The covenant of life opened, or, A treatise of the covenant of grace

manifest the glory of all ⟨p. 34⟩these to men and Angels,¹ and these attributes and the internal splendour, beauty, or (to speak so) the fundamental glory of all the attributes of God is essential to God, and his very Nature. And they deny the Lord, who teach that any attributes or such glory are in God freely or contingently (if I durst so speak) for then might we say, these may go and come, ebb and flow in the Lord, and he should be God, though Mercy, Omnipotency, Gloriousness, Graciousness, were now and then wanting in him, as he punishes not alway•, and yet he is eternally just, he saves not always, and yet he is eternally mighty to save, and abundant in compassions. but as to the manifestation of Power, Mercy, Justice, that is freely in God: He sent his Son, and gave his Son to death for us, out of love, John 3.16. But it is against common sense, to infer, Ergo, God sent his Son, by necessity of love, and mercy, and free Grace. So that he should not have been infinitely loving, merciful, gracious, if he had never sent him. And it is as poor Logic to say, because of grace and free-love he sent his Son, and so might not have sent him, as to say he loved where there was no need,² & it is in vain to show the glory of Justice (saith the Author) when God can take away sin, out of free-pleasure, and why should he expose his Son to shame, death, and a curse, whereas he might have taken away sin freely, because it is his pleasure? This is the very thing that Socinians say, there is no need of blood, and satisfaction by blood, if God out of his absolute Sovereignty can take sin away without blood, and so there was no need of real satisfaction;³ This is against the Holy Ghost, and we may hear it. All the Scriptures cries that out of free grace the Lord sent his Son, and delivered him to death; By the grace of God He tasted death for every man, Heb. 2.9. Shall we infer there was then no necessity that he should die? It is safest to say the only wise God decreed that sin should be. 2. That the glory of his Justice should appear in taking away sin, not in our way, but in the way of God, to wit, in a way of justice, of mercy, of free grace, in incomparable love, of mighty power; and in all these so acts the Lord as he should not leave off to be the Lord, but acts most freely, though he had not taken that course.