Sacramental meditations upon divers select places of scripture

Can a Woman, the more affectionate Sex forget her sucking Child, her own Child, and not a Nursing child only; her own Child whilst it hangs on her breast, and with the Milk from her breast, draws love from her heart? Can such a thing as this be in Nature? Possibly it may; some such cruel Mothers may be found, but yet I will not forget thee, saith God. Though humane corrupt Nature may be so vitiated, yet from the Divine nature compassion and mercy are inseparable. It flows as waters flow from their Fountain; only here it restrained it self, and let not out one drop to Jesus Christ in the day of his sufferings. God, the God of mercy spared not.

Secondly: God spared not, saith the Text (i. e.) he abated not any thing ¹which Justice could inflict. Christ was not spared one stroke, one tear, one groan, one drop, one sigh, one shame, one circumstance, no not the least, which Justice could demand as satisfaction for mans sin.

1. 12.

There be divers kinds of mercy in God; there is in him, preventing mercy, delivering mercy, and sparing mercy. Now sparing mercy (as one well ⟨p. 114⟩observes) is the lowest mercy of all the ¹three. 'Tis less mercy to be spared or abated some degree or circumstance of misery, than to have misery prevented by mercies stepping in betwixt us and it. It's less also than to be wholly delivered out of the hand of misery. Either of these are greater acts of mercy than to abate a degree, or shorten an hour of our trouble; the least abatement of any one circumstance of misery had been sparing mercy, though it had been but the least and lowest act of mercy; and yet even this was denied to Christ, he was not abated one minute of time, or the least degree of sorrow God spared not.