The truly blessed man

Every true believer is compassed about with the mercy of God. We now come to take notice ⟨p. 569⟩of the greatness of that mercy which is entailed upon him. The Antithesis is observable: he had said the Sorrows of the wicked are great and many; yet for the present they enjoy much mixture of mercy • but he doth not say great and many are the mercies of the Godly, but they compass him about: q. d. There is nothing but mercy that he shares in: several things may here be enquired into:

EVery true believer is compassed about with the mercy of God. We now come to take notice ⟨p. 569⟩of the greatness of that mercy which is entailed upon him. The Antithesis is observable: he had said the Sorrows of the wicked are great and many; yet for the present they enjoy much mixture of mercy • but he doth not say great and many are the mercies of the Godly, but they compass him about: q. d. There is nothing but mercy that he shares in: several things may here be enquired into:

1. What mercy it is that compasseth them?

A. It was observed under the former Doctrine that Mercy is of two sorts, Common and Special: the former are called common because good and bad ••differently share in them, Matth. 5.45. Godly ••en therefore have their share in these so far as infinite wisdom sees convenient. God will not beutch to his friends that which he can afford to is enemies; he will not deny that to a Child, if he eeds it, which he gives to a Stranger: they are also called common, because they are ordinary inferior things compared with the other; and so Godly men may well expect that he will not deny to favour them therewithal, as they have occasion for them; he who counts it not too much to bestow the greatest, cannot withhold the least, if they want them,