that he doth; he can add nothing to himself. to himself. It must therefore be the manifeftation and declaration of the holy properties of his nature that he doth intend and defign in his works. And there are two things requir

ed hereunto.

ift, That he make them known; that by ways fuited to his infinite wifdom, he doth declare that fuch properties do belong unto him; as alfo what is the nature of them, according as the creature is able to apprehend.

So he doth things to make his power known, to fhew his power, and to declare his name through the earth, Rom. ix. 17, 22. So it was faid, that by the works of creation, Tò yvwsdy Tÿ, that which may be known of God is made manifeft, Rom. i. 19, 20. And what is that? Even the natural effential properties of his being; his eternal power and Godhead. To this head are referred all thofe promiles of God that he would glorify himfelf, and the prayers of his faints that he would do fo. And the attestations given unto it in the fcripture, that he hath done fo. He hath made known his wisdom, holinefs, power, goodnefs, felf-fufficiency, and the like perfections of his nature.

2dly, That he attain an ascription, an attribution of praife and glory to himself upon their account. His defign is to be admired in all them that believe, 2 Theff. i. 10. That is, that upon an apprehenfion of his excellencies, which he hath revealed; and as he hath revealed them, they should admire, adore, applaud, glorify, and praise him, worship, believe and trust in him, in all things, and endeavour the enjoyment of him as an eternal reward. And this is alfo threefold.

(..) Interpretative; fo the inanimate and brute creatures afcribe unto God the glory of his properties, even by what they are to do. By what they are in their beings, and their obfervation of the law and inclination of their nature, they give unto God the glory of that wisdom and power whereby they are made; and of that fovereignty whereon they depend. Hence no

thing more frequent in the praises of God of old, than the calling of the inanimate creatures, heaven and earth, winds, ftorms, thunder, and the beafts of the field, to give praise and glory to God. That is, by what they are, they do fo, in as much as from the impreffion of God's glorious excellencies in their effects upon them, they are made known and manifeft.

(2.) Involuntary in fome rational creatures. Sioning men and angels have no defign, no will, no defire to give glory to God: They do their utmost endeavour to the contrary to hate him, reproach and blafpheme him. But they cannot yet caft off the yoke of God in their minds and confciences; they are forced, and fhall be for ever, to acknowledge that God is infinitely holy, infinitely wife, powerful, and righteous. And he hath the glory of all thefe properties from them, in their very defires, that he were otherwise. When they would that God were not just to punish them, powerful to torment them, wife to find them out, holy to be difpleased with their lufts and fins, they do at the fame time, in the fame thing, own, acknowledge, and give unto God the glory of his being, juftice, wisdom, power and holinefs. When therefore God hath made known his properties, the afcription of glory unto him on their account, is to rational creatures, natural and unavoidable,

(3.) It is voluntary in the reasonable service, worship, fear, truft, obedience, of angels and men. God having revealed unto them the properties of his nature, they acknowledge, adore them, and place their confidence in them, and thereby glorify him as God. And this glorifying of God confifteth in three things.

1. In making the excellencies of God revealed unto us, the principle and chief object of all the moral actings of our fouls, and of all the actings of our affectiTo fear the Lord and his goodness, and to fear him for his goodness; to truft in his power and faithfulness, to obey his authority, to delight in his will and

ons.

grace,

grace, to love him above all, because of his excellencies and beauty, this is to glorify him.

2. To pray for, and to rejoice in all the ways and means whereby he will, or hath promifed further to manifeft or declare thefe properties of his nature and his glory in them. What is the reafon, why we pray for, long for the accomplishment of the promises of God towards his faints, of his threatnings towards his enemies, of the fulfilling of the glorious works of his power and grace that yet remain to be done, of the coming of the kingdom of Chrift, of the approach of glory? Is it not chiefly and principally, that the glorious excellencies of God's nature may be made more manifeft, be more known, more exalted; that God may appear more as he is, and as he hath declared himself to be? This is to give glory to God. So likewife, our joy, rejoicing and fatisfaction in any of the ways and works of God, it is folely on this account, that in them, God in his properties, that is, his power, wifdom, holiness, and the like, is revealed, declared, and made known.

3. In their joint actual celebration of his praises; which, as it is a duty of the greatest importance, and which we are indeed of all others most frequently exhorted unto, and moft earnestly called upon for: So ia the nature of it, it confifts in our believing, rejoicing expreffion of what God is, and what he doth, that is, our admiring, adoring, and bleffing him, because of his holiness, goodness, and the rest of his properties, and his works of grace and power, fuitable unto them. This it is to praise God, Rev. v.

Fourthly, Obferve, that none of thefe properties of God can be thus manifefted and known, nor himself be glorified for them, but by his declaration of them, and by their effects. We know no more of God than he is pleafed to reveal unto us. I mean not mere revelation by his word, but any ways or means, whether by his word or by his works, or by impreffions from the law of nature upon our hearts and minds. And whatever God thus declares of himfelf, he doth it by exer

cifing, putting forth and manifefting the effects of it. So we know his power, wisdom, goodness, and grace; namely, by the effects of them, or the works of God that proceed from them, and are fuited unto them. And whatever is in God that is not thus made known, we cannot apprehend, nor glorify God on the account of it. God therefore doing all things, as hath been fhewed, for the glory of thefe his properties, he doth fo reveal them, and make them known.

Fifthly, Upon this defign of God, it is neceffary that he fhould reveal and make known all the attributes and properties of his nature, in works and effects peculiarly proceeding from them, and anfwering unto them, that he might be glorified in them; and which, as the event manifefts, that he hath done accordingly. For what reafon can be imagined, why God will be glorified in one effential excellency of his nature, and not in another? Especially muft this be affirmed of these properties of the nature of God, which the event manifesteth his principal glory to confift in, and arife from, and the knowledge whereof is to the greatest use, behoof and benefit unto the children of men, in reference unto his defign towards them.

Sixthly, Thefe things being fo, let us confider how it ftands in reference unto that which is under confideration, God in the creation of all things, glorified or manifefted his greatnefs, power, wifdom and goodness, with many other properties of the like kind. But his fovereignty, righteoufnefs, and holinefs, how are they declared hereby? Either not at all, or not in fo evident a manner as is neceffary, that he might be fully glorified in them, or for them. What then doth he do? Leave them in darkness, vailed, undiscovered, fatisfying himself in the glory of those properties which his work of creation had made known? Was there any reafon, why he should do fo, defigning to do all things for himfelf, and for his own glory? Wherefore, he gives his holy law as a rule of obedience unto men and angels.

This plainly reveals his fovereignty or authority over them, his holiness and righteoufnefs in the equity and purity of things he required of them; fo that in and by these properties alfo he may be glorified. As he made all things for himself, that is, the manifeftation of his greatnefs, power, wisdom, and goodnefs, fo he gave the law for himself, that is, the manifeftation of his authority, holiness, and righteoufnefs. But is this all? Is there no remunerative justice in God, in a way of bounty? Is there not vindictive juftice in him, in a way of feverity? There is fo, and in the purfuit of the defign mentioned, they are alfo to be manifefted, or God will not be glorified in them. This therefore he did alfo in the rewards and punishments that he annexed unto the law of obedience that he had preferibed. To manifeft his remunerative juftice, he promised a reward in a way of bounty, which the angels that finned not were made partakers of; and in the penalty threatned, which finning angels and men incurred, he revealed his vindictive juftice in a way of feverity. So are all thefe properties of God made known by their effects, and fo is God glorified in them, or on their account.

1

But after all this, are there no other properties of ,his nature, divine excellencies that cannot be feparated from this Being, which by none of thefe means, are fo much as once intimated to be in him? It is evident that there are; fuch the mercy, grace, patience, long-fuffering, compaffion and the like: Concerning which obferve,

ift, That where there are no objects of them, they cannot be declared, or manifefted, or exercifed. As God's power or wifdom could not be manifeft, if there were no objects of them, no more can his grace or mercy. If never any ftand in need of them, they can never be exercifed, and confequently never be known. Therefore were they not revealed, neither by the creation of all things, nor by the law or its fanction, nor by the law written in our hearts. For all the 'e fuppofe no objects of grace and mercy For it is finners only, and

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