CXXXIII. 66 SERM and fuggeftions of our minds, as will appear by citing one or two teftimonies to this purpose, of those who had no other guide but natural light. Plato, in his Phaedo, inquires, "whether the most perfect (that is GoD) be always the fame, or fometimes "thus, and fometimes otherwife? that is (faith he) whether that which is equality and goodness "and bounty itself, receives any the leaft change at any time, and be not conftant and uniform, "and of itself always the fame, Kai idaμñ sdaμõs σε αλλόωσιν ἐδεμίαν ἐνδεχεται, and is never in any "wife, upon any account, fubject to any change "or alteration whatsoever? To which he anfwers, "That it is neceffary that he should be the fame "and always alike." And lib. 2. de Repub. where he lays down the fundamental laws and conftitutions of religion, he mentions these two (which, one would almost think, he borrowed from St. James, but that he lived fo long before him) viz. first, "That GOD is the caufe of all good, and in no wife "of any evil" anfwerably to what our apostle here afferts, that "GOD cannot be tempted with "evil, neither temptetli he any man; but that "every good and perfect gift is from him." Secondly, "That GOD doth not deceive us, by "making various reprefentations of himfelf to us; "fometimes in one form, and fometimes in ano"ther; for he is unchangeable, and always the fame, * and cannot, τῆς ἑαυτὸ ἰδέας ἐκβαίνειν, pafs out of "his own idea, or be any other than what he is :" which he further confirms by this excellent reafoning, "that which is the best and most perfect being is not liable to any alteration; but fuch a be 66 66 ing is GOD, and therefore he cannot be changed by any thing that is weaker and lefs perfect than "" him h CXXXIII. " himself, and he cannot will to change himself; SERM. being already poffeft of all perfection, there can 2. This will yet more clearly appear from the D 3 “ ty,” SERM." ty," 1 Tim. i. 16. And he is immutable likewise CXXXIII. in his perfections; hence it is fo often faid in the Pfalms, that his goodness and his mercy endure "for ever; his righteousness is likewife faid to en"dure for ever." Pfal. cxi. 3. and Pfal. xxxvi. 6. "To be like the great mountains, not only visible "and confpicuous, but firm and immoveable ;" and the fame likewife is faid of his truth and faithfulness, Pfal. cxvii. 2. "His truth endureth for "ever;" and of his power, Efa. xxvi. 4. “In the "LORD Jehovah is everlasting strength." And so likewise in his decrees and purposes, Pfal. xxxiii. 11. "The counfel of the LORD ftandeth for "ever, and the thoughts of his heart to all genera"tions." Efa. xiv. 24. Surely as I have thought, "fo fhall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, fo fball it ftand." Numb. xxiii. 19. "GOD is not 66 a man, that he fhould lie, or as the fon of man, "that he should repent: hath he spoken, and shall "not he do it? hath he faid it, and shall not he bring it to pass?" If he hath made any promise, or entered into any covenant with us, it is firm and immutable, Pfal. lxxxix. 33. He will not fuffer "his faithfulness to fail, his covenant will he not "break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of his lips." His covenant and his promise are in themfelves immutable; but for our further affurance, GOD hath given us his oath, the highest sign of immutability; fo- the apoftle to the Hebrews tells us, chap. vi. 18. That by two immutable things,' (viz. his promife and his oath) "in which it is im"poffible for GOD to lie, we might have strong "confolation, who are fled for refuge to the hope " which is fet before us." I proceed to the III. Thing I promited, which is, to answer an objection, objection, which may feem to lie against what hath SERM. been faid, from the mention fo often made in fcrip- CXXXIII, ture of God's repenting himself; as Gen. vi. 6. where it is faid that " it repented GOD that he had "made man." 1 Sam. xv. 11. That "he repent"ed that he had made Saul king :" and 2 Sam. xxiv. 16. When " the angel had ftretched out his "hand over Jerufalem to destroy it," it is faid, that "the LORD repented him of the evil :" and Pfal, CXXXV. 14. the LORD faith there, that " he will repent himself concerning his fervants." 66 To all which I anfwer, that this expreffion of GOD's repentance we are to understand (as many others in fcripture) after the manner of men, and as fpoken by way of condefcention and accommodation to our weakness and capacity, and not as cafting any imputation of mutability and inconftancy upon God; as if out of levity, or for want of forefight, he did alter his mind: but when GOD is faid "to repent that he made man, or that he made "Saul king," the change was not in him, but them; and it fignifies, not that God was abfolutely deceived in his expectation, but that things had fallen out contrary to all reasonable expectation; and therefore the scripture clothes GoD with the human paffion of repenting and grieving for what he hath done, as men ufe to do when they are greatly dif appointed and fall fhort of their expectation. And as for the other inftances, wherein GoD is faid "to repent him of the evils threatned," the expreffion only fignifies thus much, that GoD doth not execute that which feemed to us to have been his peremptory purpofe and refolution; that is, he is pleased to do otherwife than his threatning feemed openly to exprefs, because of fome tacit condition D 4 implied CXXXIII. SER M. implied in it, which he did not think fit to acquaint us with. And this doth not at all derogate from the conftancy and immutability of GoD: for when GoD did threaten, he fpake what he did really purpose and intend, if something did not intervene to prevent the judgment threatned, upon which he was refolved at that time when he threatned, to be taken off, and to ftay his hand: and in thus doing, GOD doth not mutare confilium fed fententiam; "he doth "not change his inward counsel and purpose, but "takes off the fentence," which was paft with referved conditions, and unknown to us, on purpose to urge us the more effectually to repentance. And that God ufually referves fuch conditions, not only in his threatnings, but fometimes alfo in his promises, appears from that remarkable text, Jer. xviii. 7, 8, 9, 10. "At what inftant I shall speak "concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to deftroy "it; if that nation, against whom I have pronounc"ed, turn from the evil, I will repent of the evil "that I thought to do unto them: at what inftant "I fhall fpeak concerning a nation, and concerning "a kingdom, to build and to plant it; if it do evil "in my fight, that it obey not my voice, then I "will repent of the good wherewith I said I would "benefit them." And from this very confideration, the fame prophet encourageth the people to repentance, Jer. xxvi. 13. "Therefore now amend your ways, and your doings, and obey the voice "of the LORD your God, and the LORD will repent him of the evil he hath pronounced against 66 you." And we have a famous inftance of this in the cafe of Nineveh, the deftruction whereof within forty days after, God had openly proclaimed by his 46 prophet |