transgression as the cause; it pities and relieves misery, and pardons sin; and without this attribute, even the providential goodness of God would tend to aggravate our guilt, and increase our condemna. tion. Mercy, therefore, is spoken of in Scripture as the peculiar glory of God, and the grand subject of the believer's confidence, joy, and grateful praise. Yet, when the Lord" proclaims his name," as "merciful and gracious, slow to anger, long-suffering, and ready to forgive;" he commonly gives some intimation, that he "will by no means clear the guilty," or the impenitent and unbelieving.* All his declarations of compassion and love to sinners, are connected with holy abhorrence and righteous indignation against their sins; and contain some intimations of that change, which his grace effects in those who share his pardoning love. Yet even this would be insufficient to render the exercise of mercy, (especially in that extent spoken of in Scripture,) consistent with the perfection of holiness and justice for should mercy be shown to those who merit vengeance, and nothing done to counteract the tendency of such a measure, justice would appear imperfect, its rights would be violated, and its glory eclipsed; the law would be in a measure degraded, and the divine purity would not shine forth in its full splendour. Some intimations, therefore, were given from the beginning, that mercy would be exercised in harmony with justice: and that Jehovah would, through the promised Seed, be "a just God and a

* Exod. xxxiv. 6, 7. Nah. i. 2-8. Rom. iii. 19-24. 2 Pet. ii. 4-9.

Saviour."-Under the old dispensation, however, his servants seem rather to have believed that it would be so, than to have had clear perceptions of the mysterious way in which it would be effected: but the New Testament has removed the veil from the subject, as we shall easily perceive if "the veil do not still remain upon our hearts." This appears to be the only method in which the divine perfections could be displayed to us in all their glory: at least, all created understanding must for ever have proved incapable of conceiving in what way the largest exercise of pardon and love, to the vilest sinners, could consist with, and illustrate, the infinite justice and holiness of God, and establish his law in honour and authority. Infinite wisdom alone could devise a plan adequate to these purposes; it must spring from boundless love; and we may be sure, that the plan revealed to us, was the most approved, of all that were possible, by infinite wisdom and love.

Every intimation, therefore, of a Messiah, a Mediator, a mercy-seat, a High Priest, or an atoning sacrifice, should lead our minds to the great doctrine of redemption through Emmanuel's blood, as the central point in which every part of the revelation, that God has made of himself to man, must meet. But without further anticipating this part of the subject, we may observe, that the Scriptures every where describe Jehovah as perfect in wisdom, holiness, justice, truth, goodness, and mercy in all its various exercises; they represent these attributes as the glory of his nature, and as constituting him the proper object of our supreme love, adoration, and

services as all harmonizing in his consummate chaacter; and each subserving the exercise and glory fal his other perfections.

II. In more exactly investigating the Scriptures, we find these attributes exemplified, in the works and äispensations recorded of God. The display of his omnipotence and other natural perfections, in the

works of creation, and in the miracles which he wrought for the deliverance of his servants, or the punishment of his enemies, is too obvious to need a particular discussion; nor is it requisite to enlarge on his providential goodness. But that combination of justice, holiness, truth, and mercy, which has been stated as comprising the divine character, is manifested in his dealings with his rational creatures. Infinite in holiness and justice," he spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell." He denounced on fallen Adam and his race, the awful sentence, " Dust thou art and to dust thou shalt return," and in consequence of it, unnumbered millions have been swept into the grave by various fire and torturing diseases. The destruction of the world by the deluge; that of Sodom and the ring cities by fire; the plagues of Egypt; ance executed on the Canaanites; and all nents inflicted on the rebellious Israelites alderness, in the promised land, and through pare such exhibitions of these awful at

our minds naturally turn from the narrsion: nor can any man fully underhe has acquired a deep sense of the of the justice of God. Indeed the

corrections inflicted on Lot, David, and other offending believers, whose sins were eventually par doned, display the same attributes, and authorize the same conclusions; so that the Psalmist might well say, "My flesh trembleth for fear of thee, and I am afraid of thy judgments."

" His

On the other hand, the Lord's patience, compassion, mercy, and grace, are exhibited in all his deal. ings with fallen man: "he endureth with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath;" he hath ever appeared ready to forgive the penitent, to pity the wretched, to relieve the distressed, to lift up the selfabased, and comfort the broken-hearted. mercy is on those that fear him from generation to generation:" his dealings with Israel, and with individuals of that favoured nation, prove, this; nor did any sinner ever humbly seek his face in vain.→→→ The faithfulness of God is so illustrated in the accomplishment of his promise concerning "the Seed of the woman," four thousand years after it was given, that other instances need not be adduced.His judgments coincided with his threatenings, except as repentance intervened; and a reserve of mercy was in that case implied in all of them. The manifold wisdom of God is also most conspicuous, in so arranging these displays of justice and mercy, as to secure the glory of all his attributes, and to leave no one any ground to presume, or to despair. And the discoveries made to us of the future judgment, and the eternal state of happiness or misery, most perfectly coincide with the declarations relative to his harmonious perfections. But of this, and of redemption by the incarnation of Emmanuel and his

atoning blood, we must forbear to speak further in this place. We may observe, however, concerning this last, which is doubtless the greatest of all the discoveries God hath given of himself, that it unavoidably leads us to fix our special attention upon those mysteries of the Deity, which are so peculiar to revelation, that they, who "lean to their own understanding," would represent them as contradictory and impossible. Yet it will be shown, that they are certainly revealed in Scripture; and thence it will follow, that they are appropriated to the true Object of all adoration, and distinguish him from every idol so that those who reject the mysteries which it reveals, and adore not the One" Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost," into which Christians are baptized, cannot be said to worship that God, whose nature and perfections are declared in the sacred Scriptures. And as all the divine attributes are seen, in perfect harmony, only "in the face of Jesus Christ;" they "whose eyes are blinded, that they should not see the light of his glory," certainly worship the invention of their own hands, and not the God who hath revealed himself to man, in the person of Jesus Christ. Indeed this is manifest, from the imperfection of the object of their worship, whom they delineate as so clement, that he cannot hate and punish sin according to its desert; and by the blasphemies which they often utter against the justice and holiness of God, and the judgments which he has executed, and threatens to execute.-Let us then regard this, as a matter of

* 2 Cor. iv. 3-6.