The Breastplate of Faith and Love

But now when you hear that the Lord is thus constant, and thus exceeding in excellency, a man will be ready to say, what is this to me? I am a sinful man, there is nothing in me but that which may turn away the Lord from me, and cause him to abhor me: Well saith he, to comfort you, know that I am merciful, exceeding pitiful, exceeding ready to forgive, though your sins be exceeding many, though they be exceeding great, yet the Lord he is merciful: he is ready to pass by all those infirmities. And that is another of his excellencies. You know we reckon it a very amiable thing in a man when we see him pitiful. This doth more abound in the Lord, than in any creature, there is no man in the world so ready to forgive as God. If he were not God, if he were as man, my brethren, could he bear with us as he doth? Let us do to a man injuries, and injuries again and again, and never give over, what man can bear it, doth he not in the end withdraw himself, and will no more be reconciled? But it is not so with the Lord, when we have done all, Yet return to me, saith the Lord, Jer. 3.2. Well, but if we have such sins in us, suppose the Lord is merciful and ready to forgive, but yet there is no goodness in us, we have nothing in us why he should regard us, and why he should look after us: To that it is answered, the ⟨p. 40⟩Lord is gracious, that is, though there be no worth found in you, yet he is ready to do you good: as grace you know is proper to a Prince or a great man, that is said to be gracious to his subject, or to one that is very inferior, because he can do nothing to deserve it, it is called grace, for grace you know is nothing but freeness, and to be gracious is to do things freely, when there is no motive, no wages, when there is nothing to win him, but of free grace he doth it. So the Lord doth what he doth of his free grace, he hath mercy on whom he will have mercy, that is, when all men did stand before him alike, though there were nothing, when there was no cause why the Lord should regard them more than an other, yet He will have mercy on whom he will have mercy, that is, he is gracious, though there be nothing in us to win that love at his hands.

But now when you heare that the Lord is thus constant, and thus exceeding in excellencie, a man will be ready to say, what is this to me? I am a sinfull man, there is nothing in me but that which may turne away the Lord from me, and cause him to abhorre me: Well saith he, to comfort you, know that I am mercifull, exceeding pittifull, exceeding ready to forgiue, though your sinnes bee exceeding many, though they bee exceeding great, yet the Lord he is mercifull: he is ready to passe by all those infirmities. And that is another of his excellencies. You know we reckon it a very amiable thing in a man when we see him pittifull. This doth more abound in the Lord, than in any creature, there is no man in the world so ready to forgive as God. If he were not God, if he were as man, my brethren, could hee beare with us as he doth? Let us doe to a man injuries, and injuries againe and againe, and never give over, what man can beare it, doth he not in the end withdrawe himselfe, and will no more be reconciled? But it is not so with the Lord, when wee have done all, Yet returne to me, saith the Lord,