A Practical Commentary on the Epistle of Jude

It presseth us in all our enjoyments to acknowledge Mercy: ^1*The Saints are wont to do so: 'Tis good to refer all things to their head and proper fountain: Every thing that we enjoy is the fruit of Mercy, especially saving grace. 'Tis a sure sign a man hath received no benefit by grace, if his heart be not stirred up to praise it. We have cause to praise God for his mercy above the Angels; I mean not only the bad Angels, with whom God entered not into a treaty, he dealt with them in justice, and not in mercy; but even the good Angels in some respects we have more cause to bless God then they have: Gratitude respecteth the freeness and graciousness in giving, rather then the greatness of the benefit. God was bountiful to the Angels in making them such excellent creatures out of nothing; but he is merciful to us, notwithstanding the demerit of our sins. There was no let in his doing good to the Angels, Goodness floweth out freely from an holy God to righteous creatures; but wronged Justice interposed, and put in a bar against us; so that his Justice must be satisfied, before Mercy can have a free course. We are a generation of sinful men, the wretched off-spring of fallen Adam; we had forsaken God, and cast him off, which the Angels had not; and therefore though they have a large experience of Gods goodness, yet they wonder at the grace showed to us, 1 Pet. 1. 12. But now much more is this mercy to be acknowledged, if we consider the difference between us and other men, who it may be excelled us in moral accomplishments; but God hath passed them by, choosing us poor things of nought, poor base creatures, that the glory might ⟨p. 86⟩entirely redound to his own grace. But especially should this Mercy affect us, when it hath made a distinction between us and others that were involved in the same guilt; when one is taken, and another left; as the bad thief went to his own place, when the good thief was taken to Paradise; and many of Gods Elect were as deep in sin as those in Hell: I say, in all such cases we should still be crying out, Mercy, mercy; for certainly Justice could make no such distinction; it awardeth a like punishment to all that are found in a like crime; but Gods infinite and eternal Mercy only maketh the difference.