due to him from us. This qualifies and fits him to be the laft and highest end of man, and of all creatures. what a motive is this, to the taking God for our Lord ? How great an honour will it be to ourselves, to be the fervants of fo glorious a Lord? It is counted an high advancement, to be fervants to great and mighty potentates, What a dignity then muft it needs be, to be the fervant of the King of kings, and the Lord of lords, compared with whom all the kings of the earth are as nothing, and lefs than nothing?

3. God is a moft wife Lord. He is in wifdom fuperior to all creatures. Their wifdom bears no kind of proportion to his. For his wifdom is truely infinite. Pfal. cxlvii. 5. His understanding is infinite. It is not therefore poffible for this infinitely wife. God, to require any thing of us, that is not meet, fit, and proper to be done by us. His wifdom, is abfolutely free from all poffibility of error or miftake. We fhould therefore readily fubmit ourfelves to his conduct and direction; being fully affured, that we fhall not take one wrong ftep, while we fo do. And never do we fhew ourfelves more wife, than when we yield up ourselves, to be guided by the counsel of the infinitely wife God. Thus faid Mofes to the people of Ifrael, Deut. iv. 5, 6. Behold, I have taught you flatules and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me: -keep therefore, and do them; for this is your wisdom. And they that difregard the law of God, are declared to be utterly deftitute of wisdom. Jer. 8. 9. Lo, they have rejected the word of the Lord, and what wifdem is in them? He then is a man truly wife, who takes the only wife God for his Lord and Lawgiver.

4. God is an almighty Lord. Great men have the name of mighty, given to them, and that in the scriptures themselves (Pfal lxxxii. 1.) and the angels of heaven are called mighty angels. (2 Theff. i. 7.) But no man or angel is almighty: God alone is fo. He is the Lord God Almighty. Rev. iv 8.-He is a Lord, of infinite power and might. On this account, he is moft worthy to be chofer,

and

and ferved by us as our Lord. Who would not take him for their Lord, who is clothed with omnipotency? This was mention'd to Abraham as an encouragement to him. to obey God, Gen. xvii. 1. I am the Lord God Almighty; walk before me, and be thou perfect-There is utmost safety in ferving this almighty Lord. He can fcreen and fecure from all harms. Thus he faid to Abraham, Gen. xv. 1. Fear not, Abraham, I am thy fhield. We need fear no evil, if God be our shield, to protect and defend us. We are fafe, if we abide under the shadow of the Almighty, Pfal. xci. 1.-On the other hand, our danger is exceeding great, if we take not this almighty God for our Lord. If we ferve him not, but fin against him, omnipotency itfelf will be engaged against us. If we continue to rebel against God, his almighty power will take vengeance on us. There will be no efcaping him that is almighty, no refifting of him, no delivering ourselves out of his hands; but we fhall be made veffels of wrath, in whole deftruction God will make known his power. We fhould then fear him, who is able to deftroy both foul and body in bell, and that for ever and ever.

5. God is a moft gracious Lord. He is not an hard, rigorous, and fevere Lord and mafter, but very gracious and kind. Exod. xxxiv. 6. And the Lord paffed by before bim, and proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious. None is fo gracious and favourable to his fervants, as the Lord our God is.-He will graciously help us to do all that duty, which he requires of us. He has therefore erected a throne of grace to repair unto for all affifting grace. Heb. iv. 16. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in a time of need-Again, he will graciously accept our fervices, though exceeding imperfect, and far fhort of what they ought to be. All our fpiritual facrifices, though never fo mean, yet if offered to him with an upright and willing mind, fhall find acceptance with him, through the mediation of Jefus Chrift. 1 Pet. ii. 5.—Again, God will graciously overlook, and forgive, all our

finful infirmities and failings. Though we offend in many things, yet if we bewail our offences, and betake ourselves to the blood of Chrift for pardon of them, God will readily forgive them. Thus full of grace and mercy is God, and what an encouragement is this to take him for our Lord ?

6. God is a moft generous Lord. Thofe that ferve God, fhall not ferve him for nought: but fhall be abundantly recompenfed by him. He is a great Lord, and will do great things for them that are his fervants. Pfal. lxxxiv. 11. For the Lord God is a fun and a field; the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will be witbold from them that walk uprightly. Inconceivably great are the bleffings, which God has in referve for them that obey him. Pfal. xxxi. 19. O how great is thy goodness, which tbou baft laid up for them that fear thee! But to fay all in one word, God himself will be their reward. Gen. xv. 1. I am thy exceeding great reward. This promife, made to Abraham, is made to all the faithful children of Abrabam, who tread in his fteps; walking with God as he did. God himfelf will be their reward, their great reward, their exceeding great reward. The infinite God, in all his infinite fulness, will give bimfelf to them, to be enjoyed by them for ever. And what can we fay more? They that have God, have enough; have all that heart can wifh or defire. Our own intereft and benefit, does then engage us, to take God for our Lord. In fo doing, it fhall go well with us for ever. Thus for the first Exhortation.

EXHORT. 2. Let us come unto God as the chief good, chufing him, and feeking the enjoyment of him, as our chief good. To excite us hereunto, let us consider what a kind of good this God is.

1. He is an al fufficient good. In Him are all forts of good, and an infinite fulness thereof. God has a fufficiency of goodnefs in himself, for himself, fo as that he needs nothing out of himself, to make him perfectly blef fed. A. xvii. 25. God is not worshipped with men's bands, as though be needed any thing. He is abfolutely felt-fufficient,

ficient, altogether uncapable of receiving any addition to his glory and bleffedness. And as God has enough for himself, fo has he more than enough for his fervants. With him there is bread enough and to fpare. Luk. xv. 17. Creatures cannot poffibly take in and contain all that infinite fulness which there is in God.. O then how eligible a good is God? how worthy to be made the chofen portion of our fouls? In him alone is all fufficiency in all other things there is utter infufficiency.

2. God is an eternal good. He is from everlasting, unto everlasting, the fame infinitely good and al-fufficient God. He is an everliving fountain of good. Eternity is infeparable from all the perfections of God. And as God thus continues good for ever, fo they that enjoy him as the fountain of good, fhall enjoy him for ever. Pfal. Ixxiii. 26. Thou art my portion for ever. Their communion with God, and fruition of him, fhall know no end. A beginning it has, but an end it fhall never have. Nothing fhall be able to deprive them of God. Other good things, may be taken from us, but God cannot. Death will certainly deprive us of the enjoyment of the good things of this world, but it cannot deprive us of the enjoyment of God. No, it will be fo far from depriving us of Him, as that it will hand us over to the more immediate and full enjoyment of God; fo that for us to die will be gain, Phil. i. 21. And when we go to God in the other world, we fhall abide with him, in the enjoyment of him to all eternity. O then how worthy is God' to be chofen and fought after, who is an everlafting good, and to be enjoyed unto everlasting!

3. God is an inexhaustible good. He is fuch a fountain of good, as can never be exhausted, or drawn dry. Glorified faints and angels fhall live upon God for ever, without the leaft diminution of that fulness, which there is in God. All the communications of divine goodness to them, causes no abatement of it, in any degree; though there be eternal out lets of goodness to them, yet God will abide infinitely full to all eternity. For, the good

nefs

t

nefs of God being infinite, it can therefore be neither increased, nor diminished. O then, let us be concerned to come to, and fecure an intereft in, this ever-full fountain of all good.

And if we would thus do, let us come unto God Jefus Chrift. For no man can come unto the Father, fo as to enjoy communion with him here and hereafter, but by the mediation of Jefus Chrift. Joh. xiv. 6. No man can come unto the Father but by me, fays Chrift. The only way and means for men to come to God the father, is by Jefus Chrift the mediator. 'Tis he that brings us to God. 1 Pet. iii. 18. 'Tis Jefus Chrift only that brings us into favour with God. 'Tis he that reconciles us to God, that turns away God's anger from us, and reftores us to his favour. Col. i. 21, 22. You that were fometimes alienated and enemies in your minds by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled, in the body of his flefo through death.'Tis Jefus Christ also that brings us to the eternal fruition of God in heaven. 'Tis he that will receive our Spirits into heaven, at their departure out of the body. (Act. vii. 59) 'Tis he that will at the laft day conduct our entire perfons into heaven, and prefent them unto God the father, and put us in the poffeffion of him. Matth. xxv. 34. Then fhall the King Jay unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you, from the foundation of the world.Let our reliance then be upon the merits and mediation of Jefus Chrift, for our eternal enjoyment of God. We must not truft to any doings of our own, as if thereby we could entitle ourfelves to the favour and fruition of God. 'Tis true, we must be careful to do good works, and to follow holiness, without which we ball not fee God. (Heb. xii. 14.) Yet we must not confide therein, as that which can procure for us a title to God; but all our dependance must be on the fatisfaction, and merits, and interceffion of the Lord Jefus Christ, for reconciliation to God, and the eternal enjoyment of God. We must expect that God will blefs us, and fave us, and make us happy, and give himself