good he can give him; so God gives us life and being, and in the end will give us himself, and with himself all the good he has; and his will is, we should enjoy it for ever; moreover, he extends this his goodness to all, offering his grace to every one, and drawing good from the evil that is intended them by others, through the depth of his wisdom and power.

9. God is merciful. As he beholds the miseries that men are liable to in this life, and much greater in the next, so contrary to the good and happiness he intended for us, he either prevents these evils, or delivers us out of those we are fallen into, through our own fault, or others' malice; and this is mercy. This he has manifested to man, in the most immense manner, in all that he has done for him; by creating him in grace, with a power to arrive to life everlasting; in redeeming him, by the incarnation and death of his only Son, from hell, after he had, by sin, forfeited heaven: by delivering him out of the wretched state of sin by the sanctifying grace of the Holy Ghost, when he least deserved it. What we are, what we have, and what we hope to be, is the effect of his mercy; so that we have great reason to say, his mercy is above all his works: this his mercy is extended both to body and soul, but chiefly to the latter, in sparing us under our many transgressions; in soliciting us to repent, as soon as we have sinned; expecting with patience, and never refusing to forgive under true repentance: relieving us in our wants, when we ask him; inspiring us to ask, when we are unmindful of it; and often giving us without asking. The very evils of this life are the blessed effects of his mercy, intending thereby to draw us from sin to the pure love of himself: I will sing the mercies of our Lord to eternity. Psalm lxxxviii. 1.

sons.

10. God is just: he is just and holy in all his works: holy in heaven, holy upon earth, and holy in hell itself. He is just both to the good and the bad; rewarding one, and punishing the other, according to their merit, without exception of perHis vindictive justice against the wicked, he has already shown in part, in this world, in many events: in the rebel angels above, in sinful Adam below, in the deluge, and in the fire of Sodom, and in all the evils of plague, famine, and war, which have ravaged the world from the beginning. Yet the works of his mercy are above the works of his justice, for we may observe that his mercy goes before his justice, and has pardoned sinners many times, and warned them to amend, before his justice strikes; it goes along with his justice, and mitigates the punishment, which is ever less than the fault; and it also follows after his justice, which commonly strikes the sinner for some merciful end. In the next life, indeed, sinful

souls will be punished for ever and ever; because the crimes of men have made such a punishment necessary, as there is no other that can restrain the worser part of men: but even this is a mercy to the living, and might have prevented all, who are in that place, from falling into it, if they had sufficiently a tended to it.

11. God has an universal providence over all he has made, especially over man, to whose salvation the course of providence is chiefly ordained. As he created the world, who should have the care of it but himself? What other hath he appointed over the earth, or whom hath he set over the world which he hath made? Job xxxiv. 13. As by his omnipotence he gave us being, so by his providence he preserves all beings. For, as he knows what all beings require, according to their nature, the means to bring them to their end, the hinderances to those means, and how to prevent them; the miseries that may befall each one, and the means to deliver them from the evil, and to give them the good; and as he has a will to communicate that good, which he intended all beings in their creation; and a power to put it in execution; it is thus he provides sufficiently for all creatures, and has care of individuals, as well as of the whole. The same providence that reigns over the angels above, reaches to the least insect below: Thy providence, O Father, even from the beginning, governeth all things. Wisdom xiv. 3. But as none but such as are endowed with reason, are properly capable of happiness, hence we conceive providence chiefly intent upon man; and this providence extends both to body and soul, to procure for us temporal, but chiefly eternal good; hence are derived all spiritual blessings for the soul, and, also, those temporal blessings too, which assist us to pass this life with comfort: and by the same care of divine providence, we are either preserved from the contrary evils, or delivered out of those we are fallen into. Thus all may rest securely, that on the part of God, nothing can be wanting to them under such a providence, which provides abundantly for all such as are not themselves negligent of their own temporal and eternal good. EXHOR.-Adore God, O Christian, in all his divine perfections. As you believe in one God, Creator of all, learn hence to do good to your fellow creatures, as being made by the same God as yourself, as servants of the same Lord, as sons, of the same Father, and ordained to the same end. As you believe in the blessed Trinity, three persons and one God, stand firm in this faith, amidst the blindness of this age; pretend not to dive into this mystery, which is far above the comprehension of man: if God is incomprehensible in his judgments and unsearchable in his ways, (Rom. i. 33,) how much more incompre

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hensible is his being, and unsearchable his divinity! Adore God as the infinite eternal Being, the Being of beings, the Being of yourself. Adore him as present in all places, especially in churches, where he manifests his presence by conferring benefits; and in heaven, where he is seen, not as here, by faith only, but in his glory. Rejoice that you have a God of infinite power and wisdom, who can find a thousand means to save and deliver you out of all evils; and never cease to praise his infinite goodness and bounty, from whence you have received so many excellent gifts, both of grace and nature; He openeth his hand, and filleth every living creature with blessings. Psalm cxliv. 16. Man in particular, to whom he gives himself, and with himself all things; in return, he requires that you love him above all things; this is his greatest commandment, and your essential good: how jealous then ought you to be of those visible things that rob you of your heart? Rather place your affections all in one, in whom all the good that is in created things, centres; who, by himself alone, without them, can give you all the happiness they can give, and infinitely more, which they cannot give. Adore God in his infinite mercy; though you have reason to fear his justice, you have still greater reason to hope in mercy fear his justice then, that you may not too much presume; but still adhere to his mercy, that you may not be too much dismayed and terrified by justice. Adore him even in his justice: what would become of all the good, if there was not a just God; if there was no judge, no justice, to distinguish between the cause of the just, and the cause of the impious? Who must relieve the poor, the injured, the persecuted, and oppressed, unless there was a just God to call the wicked to account? Where would virtue be, if there was not justice to undertake its cause? It is the justice of God that patronises all that is good, both in heaven and upon earth. To conclude, adore and glorify God in his divine providence over you and all creatures. what would become of the world, if there was not such a providence? How many blessings do you daily receive from that hand? How many mischiefs intended you are daily warded by that hand? Admire the dominion of God, in this his just government of the universe: see how sweetly does he govern, not as tyrants, but as a father, alluring us to virtue by rewards; not forcing, but giving every one inclinations to their good: yet, how strongly does he govern, his dominion reaching from the beginning to the end of every thing: at the same time how justly his providence, having no other end but to communicate the good which he has to us, to preserve us in that good, and to bring all to the perfect possession of it. O that all, who in

this world govern under God, would imitate this form of government; govern sweetly, not despotically; strongly, not negligently; justly, not partially not for their own interest and ambition, but for the good of those they govern, and for the glory of the supreme Governor of mankind! Let us rejoice, at least, that we live under so good, so wise, so powerful, and just a God: only strive to make yourself worthy, that he may have that special care of you which he has for all the good; and this by seeking the kingdom of God, and his justice, in the first place, (St. Matt. vi. 33,) esteeming nothing more, nothing so much, as that eternal and celestial kingdom, where you are to see and enjoy God, and the justice of it; that is, those vir tues, those good works, and that grace, which is your title to that kingdom: then you may safely rely that providence will make all things co-operate to your good, and let nothing finally hinder your salvation.

SECT. III.

Q. WHAT mean those words, Father Almighty? A. That God the Father is the first person of the blessed Trinity; by nature, the Father of the second person; by grace and adoption, the Father of all good Christians; and by creation, of all

creatures.

INSTRUC.-God the Father is the first person of the blessed Trinity, because he proceeds from no other person. The Son is the second person, because he proceeds from the Father, by eternal generation. The Holy Ghost is the third person, because he proceeds both from the Father and the Son: yet we must not imagine there is any inequality among them, who have one and the same essence, one and the same power, one and the same greatness.

2. As we say a man is a father of a family, because his children are his offspring, and because they have their education and inheritance from him; by much greater reason, God is the common Father of all; because all have their being from him: We are his offspring, (Acts xvii.) and his universal providence provides for all but as Christians, by a singular favour and grace, received through the death and passion of Christ, they are adopted sons of God, and heirs to the kingdom of heaven, and have this title to call God their Father, by the right of adoption, which others have not.

3. We call him Almighty, which imports an unlimited power to do all things, infinitely more than man can conceive; and therefore it is a great folly to deny what God has revealed, merely because it might seem strange and incomprehensible to man. This omnipotent power of God is mentioned in the

very first article of our creed, because our whole faith and hope is grounded upon it; for we can have no reason to mistrust any mystery of our faith, when grounded on the authority of an omnipotent Being; or to despond under an omnipotent God.

EXHOR.-With what awe and profound respect ought you, O Christians, to begin your creed, wherein you profess your belief of the infinite and eternal God! With what love, when you name him your Father, and great Creator of heaven and earth! Learn to fear his Almighty power. This fear is the beginning of wisdom : let it ever accompany your faith, the better to preserve you in an humble submission to it; let it accompany all your actions, that in them you may avoid evil, and do good more perfectly; let it accompany your thoughts, to banish all evil, even from your mind. Learn, above all things, to love God, whose being you profess to adore, whom you name your Father, your Creator, that gave you life and being. If, by grace, you are adopted among the sons of God, and heirs of heaven, let your souls dwell in heaven, while your bodies are on earth, and remember heaven is your home, your happiness, and last end: Our conversation is in heaven.

SECT. IV.

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth,

Q. WHO made heaven and earth? A. God. Q. Of what did he make them? A. Not of any pre-existent matter, but of nothing, by his only word. Q. Why did he make them? A. To manifest his power, wisdom, and goodness. Q. In how long time were all things made? A. In six days.

INSTRUC. As the belief of one God, Creator of the world, is the foundation of all true religion, hence the creed and Scripture begin with the creation, as the first point of the divine law, and teach expressly, that the world was not from eternity, or made of any pre-existent matter uncreated, but was created and made, both as to matter and form, by the divine power only of the supreme God; and this, not all at once, but in six days successively, and by parts; the first day being assigned to the creation of the elements, the heavens, the earth, the waters, the light and the following days, to the distinct creation of the ornaments belonging to each element; as the sun, moon, and ́stars, for the heavens; animals, trees, and plants, for the earth; fowls for the air, and fishes for the sea which seems to have been done with design to root the worship of one God