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ἀφθάρτω

SERM. That may perhaps, in Some fenfe, be afVII. firmed alfo of fome other Beings;) but it fignifies, He whose Being (or whose proper Name and Character) is effentially and invariably, which Is, and Was, and is to come. And This expreffion is very agreeable to the Sublimity of the Prophetick Style. In other places, the Scripture fets forth the fame thing, only in more eafy and popular expreffions: Stiling God, the King immortal, 1 Tim. i. 17; which only hath immortality, ch. vi. 16. that is, who only hath it immutably and independently: The incorruptible God, Rom. i. 23. and, from everlafting to everlasting, (that is, by an unchangeable effence,) thou art God, Pf. xc. 2. All other things are changeable and perishable; even the Frame of the Heavens themselves above, and the Foundations of the Earth beneath ; Pf. cii. 26. They all fall perish, yea all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture skalt thou change them, and they shall be changed; But Thou art the Same, the Same through all generations, and beyond all generations ftill unchangeably the fame.

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2dly, IN

2dly, IN refpect of his Perfections SER M. likewife, as well as his Effence, God is VII. abfolutely unchangeable. Concerning thofe Perfections which flow neceffarily from his Effence, and depend not on his Will, this is Self-evident; because whatever neceffarily flows from any Caufe or Principle, muft likewife of neceffity be as invariable, as the Caufe or Principle from which it neceffarily proceeds. Of This kind, are the Power, the Knowledge, the Wisdom, and the other natural Attributes of God; which having no dependence even upon his own Will, any more than his very Being itself has; 'tis plain they can much less be subject to any Alteration, from any other Cause or Power whatsoever. Concerning thofe other Perfections, the Exercise whereof depends upon his Will; fuch are his Juftice, Veracity, Goodnefs, Mercy, and all other moral Perfections the abfolute Immutability of thefe, is not indeed fo obvious and felf-evident; because it depends on the unchangeablenefs, not only of his Effence, but of his Will alfo. Nevertheless, upon careful confideration, the unchangeL 2. ableness

;

SERM.bleness of These likewise, will no less cerVII. tainly appear: Because in a Being who

his

always knows what is right to be done,
and can never poffibly be deceived, or
awed, or tempted, or impofed upon;
general Will or Intention, of doing always
what is best and most fit and right, will
in reality, though not upon the fame
ground of natural Neceffity, yet in event,
and upon the whole, be as certainly and
truly unchangeable, as his very Effence
itself. With great reafon therefore does
the Scripture thus fpeak of his Justice
and Veracity, Pf. cxvii. 2. The Truth
of the Lord endureth for ever; and Pf. cxi.
3, 5, 7 8.
His righteousness endureth
for ever; he will ever be mindful of his
covenant; The works of his hands are
verity amd judgment, all his commandments
are fure; They stand fast for ever and
ever, and are done in Truth and Up-
rightness. And concerning his Mercy
and Goodness, Pf. xxxv. 5. Thy Mercy, O
Lord, is in the Heavens, and thy Faithful-
nefs reacheth unto the clouds; Thy righ-
teousness is like the frong mountains, thy
judgments are like the great deep. And

the

VII.

the Apostle St James reprefents this to us SER M. under a very elegant Similitude, ch. i. 17. Every good and perfect Gift, faith he, cometh down from the Father of Lights, with whom is no variableness neither shadow of turning. The Comparison is extremely elegant, drawn from the confideration of That which in corporeal things is the leaft fubject to change, viz. the Sun fhining in the Heavens. The Sun, is the greatest, the most regular, the most stable and constant Difpenfer of Light and Heat and fruitful influences, upon the whole Face of This inferior World; yet is his influence varied by different Motions, by Days and Nights, by Winter and Summer, by Clouds, and Shadows, and by alterations within its own Body. But God, the Father of fpiritual Light, the Author and Difpofer of all good and perfect Gifts, has in him no Motion, no Uncertainty, no Alteration of any of his Perfections, no Variableness neither shadow of turning.

3dly, As God is unchangeable in his Effence, and in the general Perfections of his Nature; fo is he alfo in the particular L 3 Decrees

SERM. Decrees and Purposes of his Will; and VII. likewife in his Laws, in his Promifes, ན་ག and in his Threatnings. The Reason is;

because, having all Power, and all Knowledge, he can never refolve upon any thing, which fhall be either not poffible, or not reafonable, to be accomplished. All finite Beings are frequently forced to change their Defigns; because they often find it impoffible to finish what they begin, or unreasonable to pursue their first Intention: But in God, these things have no place.

HE is unchangeable in all his Decrees and Purpofes; because having all things in his Power, and comprehending all things in his Fore-knowledge, he can by no Force be over-ruled; he can by no furprize or unexpected accident be prevented; he can by no unforeseen Alteration in the reafons of things be himself changed in his Purpose. The Counsel of the Lord ftandeth for ever, and the thoughts of his Heart from generation to generation, Pf. xxxiii. 11. He is in one mind, and who can turn kim? and what his Soul dereth, even That he doth, Job xxxiii. 13.

Some

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