The unchangeableness of GOD. JAMES i. 17. With whom is no variableness, nor fhadow of turning. Do not err, my beloved brethren: Every good gift, T 47 HE connexion and dependance of these words SER M. upon the former is briefly this; the apoftle cxxxIII. had afferted before, that GoD is not the author of fin and evil, ver. 13, 14. "Let no man fay when "he is tempted, I am tempted of God, for GOD "cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: but every man is tempted, when he is "drawn afide of his own luft, and enticed ;" and here in the text he afferts, that God is the fountain and author of all good; "do not err, my beloved "brethren;" as if he had faid, no not mistake me, though fin and evil be not from God, but from our selves, and our own corrupt hearts; yet all good is from GOD, and not from ourselves: though we be the authors of the fins we commit, yet we are not so of the good that we do, this is from GOD; "eve"ry good gift, and every perfect gift is from above, "and cometh down from the Father of lights." Sin, which is nothing but evil and imperfection, is not from God, but wholly from ourselves; whatever is good and perfect, is not from ourselves, but from CXXXIII. SERM. from GOD; we are neither inclined to that which is good, nor are able of ourselves to perform it; both the inclination and the power are from God, who is the fountain of goodness and perfection, and can never be otherwise, and can never change nor cease to be fo, "for with him is no variableness, nor fhadow "of turning.” "Every good gift, and every perfect gift ;" all that goodness, and all thofe degrees of perfection, which are in the creatures, in the highest angels or faints, in the best of the fons of men, . whatever there is of excellency and perfection, of goodness or happinefs in any of them," is from above," that is, from heaven, it is " the gift of God," and "com"eth down" from that perfect, good, and glorious being, whom the apoftle here calls "the Father of "lights," in allufion to the fun, which is a kind of univerfal benefactor to the world, and liberally dif penfeth his light and heat and influence upon all things here below but then there is this difference, the fun changeth its habitudes and pofitions in reference to us, and varies it's fhadows; it rifeth and fets, comes nearer to us, and goes farther from us; but it is otherwise with this intellectual and immaterial fun, "the Father of lights, with whom there is no varia"bleness, nor fhadow of turning," wapaλλayn ĥ тpowas arooniaoμa, which are all aftronomical words; the first, wapanλayn, fignifies the various habitudes and pofitions wherein the fun appears to us every day, at it's rifing, in the meridian, and when it sets; rpo is a word which belongs not to the daily, but to the yearly course of the fun, which is nearer to us, or farther from us, as he approacheth nearer towards the northern or fouthern tropicks; and hence it is that it casts several shadows to people in feveral coun tries; and agreeably to this, the word άzorníasμa, SER M. cafting of fhadows," being joined with Town, CXXXIIL fignifies the variation of the fhadows according to the course and motion of the fun. But God is an eternal fpring of light, which never rifes or sets, which hath no mixture of fhadow nor darkness, hath no changes nor variations, but is always the fame free and liberal difpenfer of good things to his creatures; "the Father of lights, with "whom there is no variablenefs nor fhadow of turn"ing;" which words fignify "the immutable per. "fection and goodness of the divine nature," which fhall (by GoD's affiftance) be the fubject of my prefent difcourfe; in which I fhall proceed in this method: First, I shall briefly explain what is meant by the immutability, or unchangeableness, of the divine nature. Secondly, I fhall fhew that this is a perfection effential to God, to be immutably what he is, that is, good and perfect. Thirdly, I fhall anfwer an objection which lies against it, from the mention fo often made in fcrip ture of God's repenting himself. And, Fourthly, apply the confideration of it to our felves. I. For the explication of it. By the immutability of GOD, we mean, that he always is, and was, and to all eternity will be the fame; that he undergoes no changes either of his effence and being, or of his properties and perfections. In reference to the unchangeableness of his being, he is faid to be "eter"nal, incorruptible, and only to have immortali "ty." In reference to his perfections, he is always the fame infinitely wife, and good, and powerful, and holy, and juft being; from whence it follows, VOL. VIII. D that SERM. that he is conftant and immutable in all his decrees CXXXIII. and counfels, his purposes and promises. We are uncertain and mutable in our very nature and beings, and in all thofe qualities and perfections which belong to us, in all our purposes, refolutions, and actions; we are continually growing or decreasing in this or that quality, and do frequently change from one extreme to another, from that which is more perfect, to the contrary; now knowing, and then ignorant; fometimes wife, and oftner foolish, stronger and weaker, better or worse, as it happens, and as we order ourselves, continually waxing or waining in our knowledge, and wisdom, and goodness, and power; we frequently change our minds, and alter our purposes, and break our promises, and contradict our firmest and most serious refolutions, and speak a thing and do it not, fay it and do not bring it to pafs; but God is everlastingly the fame in all his perfections, conftant to his intentions, fteady to his purposes, immutably fixed and perfevering in all his de crees and refolutions. I proceed to the II. Thing I propofed, namely, to fhew that this perfection is effential to God, to be unchangeably what he is. And this I fhall endeavour to make manifeft both from natural reason, and from the divine revelation of the holy fcriptures. 1. From the dictates of natural reafon, which tell us, that nothing argues greater weakness and imperfection than inconftancy and change. This is the great vanity of all creatures, that they are uncertain, and do not long continue in one state: this is the vanity of the world in general, that "the fashion of "it paffeth away;" and of man in particular, that he is liable to so many natural changes, by age, and diseases, and death; for which reafon, he is faid by CXXXIIL the Pfalmift, to be," in his best estate, altogether SER M. "vanity:" and that he is liable to so many moral changes, to be deluded and deceived in his understanding, and to alter his opinion fo often, to be fo fickle in his will, and to change fo often his purposes and refolutions, according to the alteration or appearance of things. We attribute change and inconftancy to persons of the weakest age and underftanding; as children, who are liable to be toft to "and fro, and carried about with every wind," as the apostle speaks, Eph. iv. 14. Now if the divine nature were fubject to change, this would caft an univerfal cloud upon all the divine perfections, and obfcure all other excellencies, and make them" like the flower of the field," which, how gay and glorious foever, is fading and perishing; and the greater the divine perfections are, the greater imperfection would mutability be; for as "the corruption of the best things is the worst," fo the better any thing is, fo much the worse it would be to have it liable to corruption and change. And as mutability in GoD would darken all his other perfections, so would it take away the foundation and comfort of all religion; the ground of our faith, and hope, and fear, of our love and efteem of GOD, would be quite taken away. We could have no great honour or esteem for a being that is fickle and inconftant; if his power and justice were uncertain, his threatnings would in a great measure lofe their awe and force; if his truth and faithfulness could fail, no promises and declarations, how gracious foever, would be any fecurity or firm ground of truft and confidence. And this reafoning is not the refult of divine revelation, but clearly founded in the natural notions D 2 and |