SERM. perfection from GoD, and declare the repugnancy CXLII. of it to the divine nature, do fet forth the holiness "GOD cannot be tempted "Doth GOD pervert judg of GOD. Jam. i. 13. 3. Tit. i. 2. "In that cannot lie, "That by two ment, or doth the Almighty pervert justice?" Job xxxiv. 10, 12. "Far be it from GoD that he fhould "do wickedness, and from the Almighty, that he "fhould commit iniquity. Yea, furely, GoD will "not do wickedly, neither will the Almighty pervert "judgment." Rom. ix. 14. "Is there unrighteouf "nefs with GOD? GOD forbid." Zeph. iii. 5. "The ' juft LORD is in the midft thereof, he will not do "iniquity." And fo falfhood, and unfaithfulness, and inconftancy, Deut. xxxii. 4. "A GoD of truth, "and without iniquity." 1 Sam. xv. 29. "The "ftrength of Ifrael will not lie." "hope of eternal life, which God, "hath promised." Heb. vi. 18. " immutable things, in which it was impoffible for "GOD to lie." Therefore you shall find, that holinefs is joined with all the moral perfections of the divine nature, or put for them. Hof. xi. "I am "the holy One in the midft of thee;" that is, "the " merciful One." Pfal. cxlv. 17. "The LORD is " righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works." Rom. vii. 12. "The commandment is holy, and juft, and good." Rev. iii. 7. "These things "faith he that is holy, he that is true." Rev. vi. 10. "How long, O LORD, holy and true?" Pfalm cv. 42. "He remembered his holy promife," holy, that is, in refpect of the faithfulness of it. Ifaiah lv. 3. "The fure mercies of David; ra cia, the "holy mercies of David," which will not fail. .. 9. So that the holinefs of GoD is not a particular, but an univerfal perfection, and runs through all the moral moral perfections of the divine nature; it is the beau- SERM. ty of the divine nature, and the perfection of all his CXLIL other perfections: take away this, and you bring an universal stain and blemish upon the divine nature; without holiness, power would be an oppreffion; and wisdom, fubtilty; and fovereignty, tyranny; and goodness, malice and envy; and justice, cruelty; and mercy, foolish pity; and truth, falfhood. And therefore the scripture speaks of this, as God's higheft excellency and perfection. God is faid to be" glorious in holiness:" Exod. xv. 11. Holiness is called GOD's throne. holiness," are Pfal. xlvii. 8. "He fitteth upon the throne of his holiness." This is that which makes heaven: Ifaiah Ixiii. 15. It is called "the habitation of his holiness, and of his glory;" as if this were the very nature of GOD, and the fum of his perfections. The knowledge of God is called "the knowledge of the holy One." Prov. ix. 10. "To be made partakers of a divine nature,” and "to be made partakers of God's equivalent expreffions. 2 Pet. iii. 4. Heb. xii. 10. And because there is no perfection of GoD greater, therefore he is reprefented as fwearing by this; Pfal. lx. 6. "GOD hath spoken in his holinefs. Pfal lxxxix. 35. "Once have I fworn by my holiness." The angels and glorified fpirits they sum the perfections of GOD in this, Ifa. vi. 3. "And one cried "unto another, and faid, holy, holy, holy is the "LORD of hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory.' ." Rev. iv. 8. "And they reft not day and up night, faying, holy, holy, holy, LORD GOD almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.' There is no attribute of GOD fo often repeated as this; in fome copies it is nine times. II. I SERM. II. I shall endeavour to prove, that this perfec CXLII. tion belongs to GoD: First, from the light of nature. The philofophers, in all their discourses of God, agree in this, that whatever founds like vice and imperfection, is to be feparated from the divine nature; which is to acknowledge his holiness. Plato, fpeaking of our likenefs to Gop, faith, ὁμοίωσις δὲ δίκαιον καὶ ὅσιον μετὰ φρονήσεως γενέσθαι. Dan. iv. 9. King Ne buchadnezzar calls God by this title, "I know that "the spirit of the holy gods is in thee." In a word, whatever hath been produced to prove any of God's moral perfections, proves his holinefs. Secondly, from fcripture. There is no title more frequently given to GOD, in fcripture, and so often ingeminated, as this of his holinefs. He is called holiness itself, Ifaiah lxiii. 15. Where heaven is called "the habitation of his holinefs," that is, of God. His name is faid to be holy, Luke i. 49. “And "In holy is his name." He is called "the holy One," Ifaiah xl. 25. The holy One of Ifrael," Ifaiah xli. 20. "The holy One of Jacob," xlix. 23. He is faid to be "holy in all his works and promises." Pfal. cv. 42. In all his ways and works," Pfal. cxlv. 17. This title is given to each of the three perfons in the bleffed Trinity: to God the father in innumerable places: to GOD the fon, Dan. ix. 24. "To anoint the most holy." The devil cannot deny him this title, Luke iv. 34. "I know thee who "thou art, the holy One of GoD:" and the Spirit of God hath this title conftantly given it, the holy Ghoft, or the holy Spirit, or the Spirit of holiness. The fcripture attributes this perfection in a peculiar manner to GOD, 1 Sam. ii. 2. "There is none holy as the LORD." Rev. xv. 4. "For thou only art "holy." Holiness is a communicable perfection; S ERM. but no creature can partake of it in fuch a manner and CXLII. degree as the divine nature poffeffeth it. God is eternally holy, the fountain of holiness; the creatures are derivatively and by participation holy. God is eminently and tranfcendently fo; the creatures, in a finite degree. God is immutably fo, it is impoffible it fhould be otherwife; but no creature is out of an absolute poffibility of fin. In this fense it is said, Job iv. 18. That "he putteth no trust in his servants, "and his angels he chargeth with folly." And "He putteth no truft in his faints; the heavens are not clean in his fight.". From all which I fhall draw thefe inferences: chap. xv. 15. yea, 1. If holiness be a perfection of the divine nature, and a property of GOD; if, in the notion of GoD, there be included an everlasting separation and distance from moral imperfection, an eternal repugnance to fin and iniquity; from hence we may infer, that there is an intrinfical good and evil in things; and the reasons and refpects of moral good and evil do not depend upon any mutable, and inconftant, and arbitrary principle, but are fixed and immutable, eternal and indifpenfable. Therefore they do not seem to me to speak fo fafely, who make the divine will, precifely and abstractedly confidered, the rule of moral good and evil; as if there were nothing good or evil in it's own nature antecedently to the will of GOD, but that all things are therefore good or evil because GOD wills them to be fo: for if this were fo, goodness and righteoufnefs, and truth, and faithfulness, would not be effential, and neceffary, and immutable properties of the divine nature, but accidental, and arbitrary, and uncertain, and mutable; which is to fuppofe, that GoD, if he pleafed, might VOL. VIII. P be SER M. be otherwife than good, and juft, and true. For if CXLII thefe depend merely upon the will of GOD, and be not neceffary or effential properties of the divine nature, then the contrary of these, malice, and envy, and unrighteousness, and falfhood do, not imply any effential repugnancy to the divine nature; which is plainly contrary to what the fcripture tells us, that "GoD cannot be tempted with evil;" that "it is impoffible he should lie," that he " cannot be unfrighteous." 66 If any man fay that God hath now declared himfelf to be juft, and good, and faithful, and now, he cannot be otherwife, becaufe," he is a Gop of truth, and he changeth not," this is to grant the thing; for this fuppofeth the veracity and immutability of GOD to be effential and neceffary perfections of the divine nature; and why not juftice and goodness as wel? I fay, it fuppofeth veracity and immutability to be effential perfections, and not to depend upon the will of God; that is, that God cannot will to be otherwife than true and unchangeable for if he could, what affurance can we poffibly have, but that when he declares himself to be good, and juft, he is, or may be otherwife? But I need not infift upon this, which seems to be fo very clear, and to carry it's own evidence along with it. I will only ufe this argument to prove it, and fo leave it. No being can will it's own nature, and effential perfections, that is, chufe whether it will be thus, or otherwife; for that were to suppose it to be before it is, and before it hath a being, to deliberate about it's own nature. Therefore, if this be the nature of GOD, (which, I think, no body will deny) to be good, and juft, and true, and neceffa rily to be what he is then goodness, and juftice, and truth |