Discourses upon the Existence and Attributes of God

2. To extol the greatness of his mercy and […]. What I have said now, Oh my Soul, of the mercy of God, and his paternal pity, is commended by his Majesty; his Grandeur hinders not his Clemency: Though his Throne be High, his Bowels are Tender. He looks down upon his meanest Servants from the height of his Glory. Since his Majesty is Infinite, his Mercy must be as great as his Majesty. It must be a greater pity lodging in his Breast, than what is in any Creature, since it is not damped by the greatness of his Sovereignty.

2. To extoll the greatness of his mercy and 〈…〉. What I have said now, Oh my Soul, of the mercy of God, and his paternal pity, is commended by his Majesty; his Grandeur hinders not his Clemency: Though his Throne be High, his Bowels are Tender. He looks down upon his meanest Servants from the height of his Glory. Since his Majesty is Infinite, his Mercy must be as great as his Majesty. It must be a greater pity lodging in his Breast, than what is in any Creature, since it is not dampt by the greatness of his Soveraignty.

3. To render his Mercy more Comfortable. The Mercy I have spoken of, Oh my Soul, is not the Mercy of a Subject, but of a Sovereign. An Executioner may torture a criminal, and strip him of his Life, and a vulgar pity cannot relieve him, but the Clemency of the Prince can perfectly pardon him. 'Tis that God who hath none above him to control him, none below him to resist him, that hath performed all the acts of Grace to thee. If God by his supreme Authority pardons us, who can reverse it? If all the Subjects of God in the World should pardon us, and God withhold his grant, what will it profit us? Take comfort, Oh my Soul, since God from his Throne in the highest, and that God, who rules over every particular of the Creation, hath granted and sealed thy pardon to thee. What would his Grace signify, if he were not a Monarch, extending his Royal Empire over every thing, and swaying all by his Sceptre?

3. To render his Mercy more Comfortable. The Mercy I have spoken of, Oh my Soul, is not the Mercy of a Subject, but of a Soveraign. An Executioner may torture a criminal, and strip him of his Life, and a vulgar pity cannot releive him, but the Clemency of the Prince can perfectly pardon him. 'Tis that God who hath none above him to controul him, none below him to resist him, that hath performed all the acts of Grace to thee. If God by his supream Authority pardons us, who can reverse it? If all the Subjects of God in the World should pardon us, and God withhold his grant, what will it profit us? Take comfort, Oh my Soul, since God from his Throne in the highest, and that God, who rules over every particular of the Creation, hath granted and sealed thy pardon to thee. What would his Grace signifie, if he were not a Monarch, extending his Royal Empire over every thing, and swaying all by his Scepter?