"die, O houfe of Ifrael? For I have no pleasure "in the death of him that dieth, faith the Lord "God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye."

Thefe paffages certainly exprefs more than a willingness, they difcover a moft earnest defire in the divine being, that finners fhould repent and be happy. I fhall therefore clofe thefe quotations with only one more from Micah vii. 18. &c. "Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth

iniquity, and paleth by the tranfgreffion of the "remnant of his heritage? He retaineth not his "anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. "He will turn again, he will have compaffion 66 upon us he will fubdue our iniquities and "thou wilt caft all their fins into the depth of the "fea."

The mercy of God appears not only in fuch full declarations as thefe, but likewife in the hiftory of his conduct, as recorded in the Old Teftament. As often as the Ifraelites repented, after suffering for their frequent apoftacies, fo often did they find mercy. This was the cafe, in a remarkable man. ner, with king Manaffeh, and alfo with Ahab; nor was this grace confined to the Ifraclites. The inhabitants of Nineveh obtained the fame favour on the fame equitable terms; for upon Jonah's proclamation, that within forty days Nineveh fhould be destroyed, we read, Jonah iii. 5. &c. that

the people of Nineveh believed God, and pro

"claimed

<< claimed a faft, and put on fack-cloth, from the

greatest of them even to the leaft of them; and "that the king of Nineveh arofe from his throne, ❝ and laid his robe from him, and covered him "with fack-cloth, and fat in afhes. And he

caufed it to be proclaimed, and published "through Nineveh, (by the decree of the king " and his nobles) faying, Let neither man nor beast, "herd nor flock, taste any thing; let them not "feed, nor drink water. But let man and beaft "be covered with fack-cloth, and cry mightily "unto God: yea, let them turn every one from ❝his evil way, and from the violence that is in "his hands. Who can tell if God will turn and έσ repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, "that we perifh not? And God saw their works,

that they turned from their evil way, and God "repented of the evil that he had faid that he would "do unto them, and he did it not." Jonah himfelf was displeased that his prediction was not literally fulfilled; but the acknowledgement which he makes why he was unwilling to undertake the commiffion, is much to our prefent purpose, ch. iv. I. &c. "But it difpleafed Jonah exceedingly, and "he was very angry. And he prayed unto the "Lord, and faid, I pray thee, O Lord, was not "this my faying, when I was yet in my country? "Therefore I fled before unto Tarfhifh: for I "knew that thou art a gracious God, and merci

« ful,

ful, flow to anger, and of great kindness, and "repenteft thee of the evil."

The above-mentioned declarations of mercy to the penitent, were delivered under the Jewish difpenfation, and no person will imagine that they were reftricted under the gofpel. John the Baptift, the fore-runner of our Lord, our Lord himself, and alfo his apoftles, all opened their respective commiffions with the doctrine of repentance for the remiffion of fins, Matt. iii. 1. In thofe days "came John the Baptift, preaching in the wilder"nefs of Judea, and faying, Repent ye: for the "kingdom of heaven is at hand: and v. 8. "Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance." Ch. iv. 17. "From that time Jefus began to "preach, and to fay, Repent, for the kingdom of "heaven is at hand." It is not poffible to give a more ftriking or more beautiful illuftration of the propitious nature of the divine being, than our Lord has done in the parable of the prodigal fon, in which we are informed, Luke xv. 17. that as foon as this profligate youth came to himself, and to a refolution to return to his father, and to fay, "Father, I have finned against heaven, and "before thee, and am no more worthy to be called "thy fon; that, when he was yet a great way off, "his father faw him, and had compaffion, and

ran, and fell on his neck, and kiffed him.” The Lord's prayer, and the illuftration of it by

our

our Lord himself, Matt. vi. 14. affures us, that if we forgive men their trefpaffes, our heavenly father will also forgive us. The fame doctrine is repeated and enforced by him in his parable of the king who took an account of his fervants, one of whom owed him ten thousand talents. Matt. xviii. 23.

The apostle Peter, at the clofe of his firft fpeech, to a great multitude of Jews, who were affembled on the report of the first great miracle that was wrought after the afcenfion of our Lord, viz. the effufion of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecoft, fays, Acts ii. 38. Repent, and be bap "tized every one of you, in the name of Jefus "Chrift, for the remiffion of fins." The fame apostle, speaking of the divine being, fays, 2 Pet. iii. 9. "God is not willing that any should "perifn, but that all should come to repentance;" and to quote no more, the apostle John says, I John i. 8. &c. "If we fay that we have no fin, 66 we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. "If we confess our fins, he is faithful and just to "forgive us our fins, and to cleanfe us from all "unrighteousness."

SEC

SECTION V.

Of the divine veracity.

THE laft of the moral attributes of the divine

ments.

being, of which I fhall take particular notice, is his veracity, or regard to truth, and his fidelity with refpect to his promifes and engageOf this we can have no direct knowledge from the light of nature, though we infer from it that we should have reafon to depend upon the truth of all the declarations of the divine being, if he fhould think proper to make any; but in the fcriptures we find both the moft exprefs declarations concerning the veracity and faithfulness of God, and likewife a fufficient number of facts correfponding to those declarations.

વ

In If. lxv. 16. he is called the God of truth. It is faid of him, Pf. cxlvi. 6. " he keepeth truth for "ever;" and he himself fays, Pf. lxxxix. 34. "My covenant will I not break, nor alter the "thing that is gone out of my lips :" and If. xlvi. 11. "I have fpoken it, I will alfo bring it to pass; "I have purpofed it, I will alfo do it." Laftly, we read, Heb. vi. 18. "It is impoffible for God "to lie."

With