paid to the justice of God, according to a contract between the Father and the Son. A notion strange and sufficiently inconsistent with the whole gospel. For Jesus Christ's whole message, and his whole ministry, was from, John iii. 16, God the Father, who so loved the world that he gave his Son' and his Son came to seek, and to save that which was lost,' Luke xix. 10.

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The Father's rich grace, purpose, and designthese were the original and chief cause, of all his favour to mankind; and Christ's office was only to declare, and not purchase it, Eph. ii. 7. I say, God's love was antecedent to, and the original cause of all that good, which Christ in all his offices or ministration, and in all his spiritual capacities bestowed upon his followers. God sent him not to condemn the world, but that the world by him (God's instrument) might be saved,' John iii. 17, Again, 1 John iv. 9, 10, In this the love of God was manifest, that he, God, sent his only begotten Son, that the world might live through him: in this was the love of God manifest, that he sent his Son to be a propitiation concerning our sins. God himself through his love became propitious,' that is, disposed, greatly disposed to favour the world, and thereupon sent his Son to be a propitiation;' that is a declarer and publisher of God's being propitious to the world. Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.' Paul confirms this great point in his epistles: particularly in the salutations of his epistles; thus, Grace, mercy, and peace, from the God and Father of us, and of our Lord Jesus Christ,' who is said to have given his life a ransom' that is, a deliverance, for many; not to purchase God's love; but by his death, as he had by his doctrine, to move us to love God, and keep his commandments. God's free and unperchased grace hath favoured us; and we must ascribe it, as St. Paul doth, Eph. i. 6, to the glory of Go's grace;' and bless, as St. Paul doth, ver. 3, the God and Father

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St.

of our Lord Jesus Christ,' who hath according to the good pleasure of his will,' I say his own will, blessed us with every spiritual blessing.' His own will, and own good-pleasure, and no other reason, or motive whatever, but his own good pleasure,' moved God to seek, and to save mankind by his apostle Jesus Christ. God is our great Redeemer:' Christ was made Redeemer by God. Let him that glorieth, chiefly glory in, and glorify, God.

CHAP. XXVI.

God is represented by Christ and his disciples always as the prime, i. e. the first and chief cause of all good to his creatures of all kinds; particularly of that good which the holy scriptures style salvation. THIS is the universal style and notion of the Old and New Testament, as appears, by the following

passages:

The word God is originally Saxon or Teutonic, and is very emphatical: for it signifieth the good, or the good being; which most truly God may be styled in the highest, most absolute, and most perfect sense; as being essentially, immutably, and infinitely good in his whole nature, and in all his perfections.

That God is good, AFAQOZ, in the highest and most perfect sense, is very remarkably observed by Christ himself, saying, Why callest thou me good? There is no one good, but one, that is, God.' Mat. xix. 17, Mark x. 18, Luke xviii. 19. In these words, Christ plainly refuseth the character, and confines it alone to God, the supreme good.' The Platonists, and Aristotle too, styled God τὸ ἀγαθὸν and αυταγαθον, "the good, goodness itself." But how seldom did they, or any of the philosophers, magnify the goodness of God with a zeal and language like what we find in Moses. and the prophets, Christ and his apostles ?

Christ saith, that

As

God the Father causeth his sun to rise on the wicked and good; and sendeth rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.' Mat. v. 45. if he had said, these his blessings are common and general to all.

St. Paul observes well, that God had not forborn the giving proofs of his goodness, by the rains and fruitful seasons.' Acts xiv. 17. These are general evidences to all mankind of God's goodness.

God gives good things to them who ask. Mat. vii. 7, 11, Luke xi. 13, with a kindness superlative, and vastly exceeding the affection of parents, and, as Christ assures us, God is kind to the unthankful, and to the wicked.' Luke vi. 35. Such is the goodness of God' to objects undeserving, and of this all mankind are witnesses.

The texts in the Old Testament, which speak of the goodness of God, are many; the emphatical are here recited. Psalm xxxi. 19, O how great is thy goodness, for them who fear thee, that trust in thee ! xxxiii. 5, The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.' lii. 1, The goodness of God is continual.' cvii. 1, 8, 15, 21, 31, and throughout, O give thanks -for the Lord is good. O that men would praise the Lord for his goodness.' cxlv. 9, 'The Lord is good to all, his tender mercies are over all his works.'

XPHETOTHE. Rom. ii. 4, St. Paul, speaking of this most amiable divine perfection magnifies it thus: The riches of God's goodness, forbearance, and long-sufferance.' A goodness that should lead us to repentance, and, if we abide in a right sense of that goodness, it will be the greatest benefit. Rom. xi. 22.

St. Paul magnifieth the kindness,' or goodness of God, in bringing the Ephesians into the way of salvation by Christ Jesus, saying, That God being rich in mercy-through his great love, wherewith he loved us,' Eph. ii. 4, hath shewn to future ages the exceeding riches of his favour, by his kindness or goodness towards us, through Jesus Christ; that is, by

Christ's message and gospel, which he received and published from God. Ver, 7.

And the same divine person, St. Paul, is again extolling the goodness of God in the like expressions: The goodness and love çixawmi'a of God our Saviour to mankind-who according to his own mercy hath saved us.' Tit. iii. 4, 5.

EAEOE. The mercy of God, which is God's goodness to such as are in misery, is commonly a part of the salutation in St. Paul's epistles, &c. And it is the same in the following passage, in which St. Peter blessed God, who according to his abundant mercy had revived our hopes by raising Jesus Christ from the dead.' 1 Pet. i. 3.

In the Old Testament, as God is proclaimed by the characters of gracious,' and merciful,' very often; and slow to anger, and of great kindness.' Exod. xxxiv. 6, 2 Chron. xxx. 9, Psalm ciii. 8. So we verv often hear of God's tender mercies,'' great mercies,' and that his mercy endureth for ever." Psa. cxvii. and cxxxvi.

ΟΙΚΤΟΣ and ΟΙΚΤΙΡΜΩΝ. In the Old Testament we find Moses introducing God proclaiming his own character thus: the Lord Godmercitul and gracious, long-suffering, abundant in goodness,--keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin.' Exod. xxxiv. 6, 7. And the two first characters, ἐλεήμων και οικτίρμων, (merciful and gracious) are mentioned twelve times by the LXX, in their version of the sacred writings of the Old Testament." According to which character, St. Paul styles God, the Father of mercies; 2 Cor. i. 3, and St. James, The Lord is abundant in pity and merciful.' James

V. 11.

The effect of this divine goodness hath remarkably appeared in the judgment of St. Paul, by God's love of mankind; which was not procured by our righteous works, but according to his own mercy Çinarpumia he hath saved us.' Tit. iii. 4.

St. John's expression concerning the goodness of

God, is, if possible in a higher strain.

God is love.' 1 Ep. iv. 8, 9, 10. And his love is undeserved, for in this instance God's love is conspicuous: When we loved him not, yet he loved us, and sent his Son' to declare the terms of God's propitiation or favour in the forgiveness of our sins.

By all these different terms and characters, is the goodness of God' represented in the holy scriptures, which fully exhibit to us the notion and sentiments of the sacred writers, concerning this divine perfection, and also the judgment of the holy apostles, and of Jesus Christ himself, concerning the goodness' of God in all the words in which they could express it, and by all the several ways and means God's goodness' could be manifested to us.

From the foregoing passages in the sacred writings we must see, we must be convinced :

1. That the goodness of God, expressed in so many texts, and by so many different words and phrases, is a most sacred and most amiable character of the Supreme Being, which ought to render him to all intelligent creatures the supreme and only object of their love in the highest degree.

2. That God so loved us, that he gave his onlybegotten Son. God sent not his Son to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved by him,' John iii. 16, 17. God sent his only-begotten Son, that we might live through him. God sent him to declare his [God's] being propitious to us, even concerning our sins.' 1 John iv. 9, 10.

I say, God, who thus gave and sent his Son to save, &c, the world, hath on that very account a higher title, most certainly, to the love of mankind, even than the person whom he sent, even than Jesus Christ himself, who hath told us, that we should love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul,' &c. Mat. xxii. 37. Thus hath Christ fixed on his God, and our God, the highest degree of our love. And if we chiefly follow Christ's advice, and example,