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excellent ufe. And this notion of holiness is applicable either to things or perfons. To things; thus the veffels of the tabernacle, and the vestments of the Priests, were faid to be holy, because they were feparated from common ufe, and appropriated to the peculiar and excellent ufe of the fervice of God. Holiness of perfons is two-fold; either relative and external, which fignifies the peculiar relation of a perfon to God; fuch were called isis, Priefts, or holy men or elfe habitual and inherent; fuch is the holinefs of good men, and it is a feparation from moral imperfection, that is, from fin and impurity: And this is called doorns, and the primary notion of it is negative, and fignifies the abfence and remotion of fin. And this appears in thofe explications which the fcripture gives of it. Thus it is explained by oppofition to fin and impurity; 2 Cor. vii. 1. Let us cleanfe ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and fpirit, perfecting holiness, where holiness is oppofed to all filthinefs. Sometimes by the negation of fin and defilement: So we find holy, and without blame put together, Eph. i. 4. Holy and without blemish, Eph. v. 27. Holy, harmless and undefiled, Heb. vii. 26. It is true, indeed, this negative notion doth imply fomething that is pofitive; it doth not only fignify the abfence of fin, but a contrariety to it we cannot conceive the abfence of fin, without the prefence of grace; as take away crookednefs from a thing, and it immediately becomes ftraight. Whenever we are made holy, every luft and corruption in us is fupplanted by the contrary

grace.

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Now this habitual holiness of perfons, which confifts in a feparation from fin, is a conformity to the holinefs of God; and by this we may come to underftand what holiness in God is: And it fignifies the peculiar eminency of the divine nature, whereby it is feparated and removed at an infinite distance from moral imperfection, and that which we call fin; that is, there is no fuch thing as malice, or envy, or hatred, or revenge, or impatience, or cruelty, or tyranny, or injuftice, or falfhood, or unfaithfulnefs in PP 3

God;

Ser. 142. God; or, if there be any other thing that fignifies fin and vice, and moral imperfection, holiness fignifies that the divine nature is at an infinite distance from all thefe, and poffeffed of the contrary perfections.

Therefore all thofe texts that remove moral imperfection from God, and declare the repugnancy of it to the divine nature, do fet forth the holiness of God: Jam. i. 13. God cannot be tempted with evil. Job viii. 3. Doth God pervert judgment, or doth the Almighty pervert justice? Job xxxiv. 10. 12. Far be it from God that he should do wickedness, and from the Almighty, that he should commit iniquity. Yea, furely, God will not do wickedly, neither will the Almighty pervert judgment. Rom. ix. 14. Is there then unrighteousness 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 inquity. 1 Sam. xv. 29. The ftrength of Ifrael will not lie. Tit. i. 2. In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, hath promifed. Heb. vi. 18. That by two immutable things, in which it was impoffible for God to lie. Therefore you fhall find, that holiness is joined with all the moral perfections of the divine nature, or put for them: Hof. xi. 9. I am the holy One in the midst 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 just, and good. Rev. iii. 7. These things faith be that is holy, he that is true. Rev. vi. 10. How long, O Lord, holy and true? Pfal. cv. 42. He remembred his holy promife; holy, that is, in refpect of the faithfulnefs of it. Ifaiah Iv. 3. The fure mercies of David, và ioid, The holy mercies of David, which will not fail.

So that the holiness of God is not a particular, but an univerfal perfection, and runs through all the moral perfections of the divine nature; it is the beauty of the divine nature, and the perfection of all his other perfections: Take away this, and you bring an univerfal ftain and blemish upon the divine nature; without holiness, power would be an oppreffion

preffion; and wifdom, fubtilty; and fovereignty, ty-. ranny; and goodnefs, malice and envy; and juftice, cruelty; and mercy, foolish pity; and truth, falfhood., And therefore the fcripture fpeaks 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, Pfal. xlvii. 8. He fitteth upon the throne of his holiness. This is that which makes heaven; Ifa. Ixiii. 15. it is called, The habitation of his holinefs, 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 holiness, are 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 boliness. The Angels and glorified fpirits they fum up the perfections of God in this; Ifa. vi. 3. And one cried unto another, and faid, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory. Rev. iv. 8. And they reft not day and night, Jaying, 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 fhall endeavour to prove, that this perfection belongs to God,

First, From the light of nature. The Philofophers, in all their difcourfes 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 likenels to God, faith, ομοίωσις δὲ, δίκαιον καὶ ὅσιον μετὰ φρονήσεως γενέσθαι. Dan. iv. 9. King Nebu chadnezzar calls God by this title, 1 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 holiness.

Secondly,

Secondly, From fcripture. There is no title fo frequently given to God in fcripture, and fo often ingeminated, as this of his holinefs. He is called holiness itfelf, Ifa. 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 holy is his name. He is called the holy One, Ifa. xl. 25. The holy One of Ifrael, Ifa. xli. 20. The holy One of Jacob, Ifa. xxix. 23. He is faid to be holy in all his works and promifes, Pfal. cv. 42. In all his ways and works, Pfal. cxlv. 17. This title is given to each of the three perfons of the bleffed Trinity; to God the Father, in innumerable places; to God the Son, 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 holinefs. 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. Holinefs is a communicable perfection; but no creature can partake of it in fuch a manner and 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 abfolute poffibility of fin. In this fenfe it is faid, Job iv. 18. that he putteth no truft in his fervants; and his Angels he chargeth with folly. And chap. xv. 15. He putteth no truft in his faints; yea, the heavens are not clean in his fight. From all which I fhall draw thefe inferences:

1. If holinefs be a perfection of the divine nature, and a property of God; if, in the notion of God, there be included an everlasting feparation and diftance 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

451. and arbitrary principle, but are fixed and immutable, eternal and indifpenfable. Therefore they do not feem to me to fpeak fo fafely, who make the divine will, precisely and abstractedly confidered, the rule of moral good and evil; as if there were nothing good or evil in its own nature antecedently to the will of God, but that all things are therefore good or evil, becaufe 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 pleased, might be otherwife than good, and juft, and true. For if thefe depend merely upon the will of God, and be not neceffary and effential properties of the divine nature, then the contrary of thefe, 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 unrighteous.

If any man fay that God hath now declared him-" felf to be juft, and good, and faithful, and now he cannot be otherwife, because he is a God 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 well? 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 otherwise ?

But I need not infift upon this, which feems to be fo very clear, and to carry its own evidence along with it. I will only ufe this argument to prove it, and fo leave it. No being can will its own nature, and effential perfections, that is, choofe whether it will be thus, or otherwife; for that were to fuppofe

it

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