The penal sufferings of a creature cannot recompense that honour and glory to God, which the voluntary sufferings of him who was both God and man did, so that justice is far more conspicuous, and as for Gods power that also is visibly more noble, for to be able to save one is more glorious then to damn many; It's harder to save then to condemn. 2. The glory of God is more magnified in our salvation, because those that are saved are affected with this infinite goodness of God; They speak of it, they aggravate it, as Hezekiah said, Isa. 38.19. Do the dead praise thee? The living, the living they will speak of thy goodness; Thus it is here; Do the damned in hell glorify God? Do they praise him? Do they sing out their Allelujahs? No, they rather rage and blaspheme God; Oh then how strong is this in thy prayer: O Lord if thou lay my sins upon me, if they press me into hell, shall I then love thee? Shall I then glorify thee? Do not the justified, the sanctified, the saved speak of thy praises all the day long. 3 In that God is thus glorified by thy salvation, thou mayest make it Gods cause, his interest, O Lord, I have sins enough to damn me, I am worthy to be thrown into hell, but though I am unworthy to be saved, thou art worthy to be honoured; O Lord, because I have deserved hell, doth thy Name deserve to be dishonoured? Observe how the people of God in all their miseries still engaged Gods Name in their help, for his Names sake, as if they had said, O Lord, though we are unworthy to be delivered, yet thy Name is worthy to be honoured; It's no matter for us Lord, but what will become of thy great Name, O Lord the dishonour will redound more to thee then the loss to us; Oh this is strong and comfortable to consider, how Gods glory is interested in thy happiness, so that it's Gods cause more then thine, yea, and why do the devils thus desire to draw thee into sin and hell? Is it not chiefly because of their enmity against God? It's not so much thy damnation as the dishonour to God they look at; Though they hate both, yet they hate God most, and thus thou hast unanswerable arguments in this particular. And if you say,1 it being thus, Why are not all saved, would not God have the more glory? 2I answer, God doth not need any glory from the creature, he needeth not the glory that Angels and Saints give him;
The penal sufferings of a creature cannot recompence that honour and glory to God, which the voluntary sufferings of him who was both God and man did, so that justice is far more conspicuous, and as for Gods power that also is visibly more noble, for to be able to save one is more glorious then to damn many; It's harder to save then to condemn. 2. The glory of God is more magnified in our salvation, because those that are saved are affected with this infinite goodnesse of God; They speak of it, they aggravate it, as Hezekiah said, Isa. 38.19. Do the dead praise thee? The living, the living they will speak of thy goodnesse; Thus it is here; Do the damned in hell glorifie God? Do they praise him? Do they sing out their Allelujahs? No, they rather rage and blaspheme God; Oh then how strong is this in thy praier: O Lord if thou lay my sins upon me, if they presse me into hell, shall I then love thee? Shall I then glorifie thee? Do not the justified, the sanctified, the saved speak of thy praises all the day long. 3 In that God is thus glorified by thy salvation, thou maist make it Gods cause, his interest, O Lord, I have sins enough to damn me, I am worthy to be thrown into hell, but though I am unworthy to be saved, thou art worthy to be honoured; O Lord, because I have deserved hell, doth thy Name deserve to be dishonoured? Observe how the people of God in all their miseries still engaged Gods Name in their help, for his Names sake, as if they had said, O Lord, though we are unworthy to be delivered, yet thy Name is worthy to be honoured; It's no matter for us Lord, but what will become of thy great Name, O Lord the dishonour will redound more to thee then the losse to us; Oh this is strong and comfortable to consider, how Gods glory is interested in thy happinesse, so that it's Gods cause more then thine, yea, and why do the devils thus desire to draw thee into sin and hell? Is it not chiefly because of their enmity against God? It's not so much thy damnation as the dishonour to God they look at; Though they hate both, yet they hate God most, and thus thou hast unanswerable arguments in this particular. And if you say,1 it being thus, Why are not all saved, would not God have the more glory? 2I answer, God doth not need any glory from the creature, he needeth not the glory that Angels and Saints give him;
- 1Obj.
- 2Answ.
