An expository comment, doctrinal, controversial, and practical upon the whole first chapter to the…An expository comment, doctrinal, controversal, and practical upon the whole first chapter to the…

Secondly, The people of God do aggravate the mercy of God, not only ¹from the greatness of the danger they were in, but also their sinfulness, their unworthiness, that ever God should cast an eye of pity on them; and this they do whether in temporal or spiritual mercies. And truly this is an excellent way to enlarge the heart in blessing of God; when we shall consider, how unworthy we are, we that deserved cursing, to meet with blessing. See this humble frame in David, 1 Chron. 17. 16. when Nathan came to declare the good purpose of God towards him, in raising up him and his posterity to glory; see how humbly, and in a self-emptied manner he addressed himself to God, Who am I, and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto? As if he should say, Oh Lord, what am I, and my family, the meanest, and most unworthy, and wilt thou do this to me? Yea, as if this were a small thing, thou hast spoken of thy servants house, for a great while to come, and hast regarded me after the estate of a man of high degree: What can David speak more? Yea as it is 1 Sam. 7. he saith, Is this the manner of men, O Lord God? implying, that only God vouchsafeth mercy to such as are unworthy. As then he, who would build high must lay a deep foundation: So he that would exalt God on high, must lay himself low. And if it be thus for temporal mercies, we are not worthy of a crumb of bread; and though with Dives, we should beg for a drop of water, it might be denied us: Then how much more in spiritual mercies, if God bestow them upon us, Shall not our affections be greatly kindled in blessing of God? Take that fountain of all mercies, the giving of the Lord Christ to believers, to work out their salvation, by being made a curse for them. How diligent is the Scripture to put an account (as it were) upon every passage therein? That it should be as impossible for a believer to think of this love of the Father to us, and not be ravished with it, as for a man to carry hot coals in his bosom, and they not burn him. For the Scripture aggravateth it from the person who died for us, even the only begotten Son of God, John 3. 16. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Sonne. He so loved it;