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it to be before it is, and before it hath a being, to deliberate about its own nature. Therefore, if this be the nature of God, (which, I think, no body will deny) to be good, and just, and true, and necessarily to be what he is; then goodness, and justice, and truth, do not depend upon the will of God, but there are fuch things, fuch notions antecedently to any act of the divine will. And this does no ways prejudice the liberty of God; for this is the highest perfection, to be neceffarily good, and juft, and true; and a liberty or poffibility to be otherwise, is impotency and imperfection. For liberty no where speaks perfection, but where the things and actions about which it is converfant are indifferent; in all other things it is the highest perfection not to be free and indifferent; but immutable and fixed, and neceffarily bound up by the eternal laws of goodness, and juftice, and truth, fo that it fhall not be poffible to fwerve from them; and this is the perfection of the divine nature, which we call his holiness.

2. If holinefs be the chief excellency and perfection of the divine nature, this fhews us what account we are to make of fin, and wickedness, and vice. We may judge of every privation by the habit, for they bear an exact proportion one to another. Light and darknefs are oppofed, as habit and privation; if light be pleafant and comfortable, then darkness is difmal and horrid. And fo holinefs and fin are oppofed: If holiness be the higheft perfection of any nature, then fin is the grand imperfection, and the lowest debafement of any being; because it is the moft oppofite to that, and at the fartheft distance from that which is the firft excellency and perfe&tion.

This fhould rectify our judgment and efteem of things and perfons. We admire and efteem riches, and power and greatnefs; and we fcorn and contemn poverty, and weakness, and meanness, yea, grace and holiness, if it be in the company of these. We are apt to reverence and value the great, and the rich, and the mighty of this world, though they be wicked, and to despise the poor man's wisdom, and

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holinefs; but we make a falfe judgment of things and perfons. There is nothing that can be a foundation of refpect, that ought to command our reverence and esteem, but real worth, and excellency, and perfection; and according to the degrees of this, we ought to bestow our refpect, and raise our esteem. What St. James faith of respect of perfons, I may ap ply in this cafe, Jam. ii. 4. Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and become judges of evil thoughts? We are extremely partial; we make a falfe judgment, and reafon ill concerning things, when we admire gilded vices, and wickedness exalted to high places; I mean ungodly rich men, and ungodly great men; for wicked men are properly ungodly, unlike to God; and when we contemn poor, and mean, and afflicted holiness and piety, were but our eyes open, and our judgment clear and unprejudiced, we fhould fee a beauty and refplendency in goodness, even when it is under the greatest difadvantage, when it is cloathed with rags, and fits upon a dung-hill, it would fhine through all thefe mifts, and we fhould fee a native light and beauty in it, through the darkness of a poor and low condition : And we fhould fee wickedness to be a moft vile and abject thing, when it appears in all its gallantry and bravery; we should look upon the poor righteous man, as more excellent than his neighbour; and the profane gallant, as the off-fcouring of the earth. We Thould value a man that does justice, and loves mercy, and fpeaks the truth to his neighbour; we should efteem any one more upon the account of any one of thefe fimple qualities, than we should another man deftitute of thefe, upon the account of an hundred titles of honour, and ten thousand acres of land. A wicked, unholy man, he is a vile perfon, who deferves to be contemned; and an holy man, he is the right honourable; Pfal. xv. 4. In whofe eyes a vile perfon is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the Lord. The vile perfon is oppofed to him that fears the Lord. He that is bold to affront God, and fin against him, is the bafe and ignoble perfon. God himfelf, who is poffeffed of all excellency and per

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fection, and therefore knows beft how to judge of thefe, he tells us how we fhould value ourselves and others 3 Jer. ix. 23, 24. Let not the wife man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might; let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth, glory in this, that he underftandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercife loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth; for in thefe things I delight, faith the Lord. To know thefe divine qualities and perfections, fignifies here, to understand them fo as to imitate them. I do not fpeak this, to bring down the value of any that are advanced in this world, or to leffen the refpect which is due to them; I would have nothing undervalued, but wickedness and vice; and I would have thofe who have ftore of worldly advantages to recommend them, to add religion to their riches, and holinefs to their honour, that they may be current for their intrinfick value, rather than for the image and picture of worth which the world hath ftamped upon them.

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3. If holinefs be the thief excellency and perfection of the divine nature, then what an abfurd and unreafonable thing is it, to fcorn and defpife holinefs, to mock and deride men under this very title! The world is much blinded, that they do not fee the great evil of fin, and the beauty and excellency of holinefs but that men fhould be fo infatuated, as to change the nature of things, and to mistake things of fo valt difference, as fin, and holiness; to call good evil, and evil good; that fin, which is the vilest thing in the world, fhould be efteemed and cherished, accounted a piece of gallantry, and reckoned amongst the excellencies and accomplishments of human nature; and holiness, which is fo great a perfection, Thould be a name of hatred and difgrace, to be contemned and perfecuted; that that which is the glory of heaven, and the moft radiant perfection of the divine nature, fhould be matter of fcorn and contempt; as the Apostle fpeaks in another cafe, Behold, ye defpifers, and wonder, and perish! Do ye think the holy and juft God will put up thefe affronts and

indignities? Ye do not only defpife men, but ye defpife God alfo. You cannot contemn that which God accounts his glory, without reviling the divine nature, and offering defpite to God himself: The malice reacheth heaven, and is levelled against God, henever ye flight holiness.

4. If God be a holy God, and hath fuch a repu gnancy in his nature to fin, then this is matter of terror to wicked men. The holy God cannot but hate fin, and be an enemy to wickedness; and the hatred of God is terrible. We dread the hatred of a great man; because where hatred is backed with power, the effects of it are terrible but the hatred of the almighty and eternal God, is much more dreadful, because the effects of it are greater, and more lafting, than of the hatred of a weak mortal man. We know the utmoft they can do; they can but kill the body; after that, they have no more that they can do. They cannot hurt our fouls; they.cannot follow us beyond the grave, and purfue us into another world: but the effects of God's hatred and difpleafure, are mighty and lafting, they extend themfelves to all eternity; for who knoweth the power of his anger? Who can tell the utmost of what omnipotent justice can do to finners? It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God; because he that lives for ever, can punish for ever. We are miferable, if God do not love us. Thefe words, My foul fhall have no pleasure in him, fignify great mifery, and exprefs a dreadful curfe: but it is a more pofitive expreffion of. mifery, for God to that fignifies ruin and deftruction to the utmoft; Pfal. v. 4. Thou art not a God that hath pleafure in wickedness, neither fhall evil dwell with thee. This is a usiwois, and expreffeth lefs than is intended. God is far from being of an indifferent negative temper towards fin and wickednefs; therefore the pfalmift adds, Thou hatest all the workers of iniquity and then, in the next verse, to fhew what is the effect of God's hatred, Thou shalt destroy them that Speak leafing. Therefore, finner, fear and tremble at the thoughts of God's holiness. ૦ ૧

hate us;

VOL. VI.

5. Imi

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5. Imitate the holiness of God: This is the inference here in the text, Be ye holy, for I am holy. Holiness, in one word, contains all the imitable perfections of God: And when it is faid, Be ye holy; it is as much as if he had faid, Be ye good, and patient, and merciful, and true, and faithful; for I am fo. Therefore religion is called the knowledge of the holy One, Prov. ix. 10. and chap. xxx. 3. And our imitation of God is expreffed by our putting on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness, Eph. iv. 24. Seeing then this is the chief excellency and perfection of God, and the fum of all the perfections which we are to imitate, and wherein we are to endeavour to be like God, let us conform ourfelves to the holy God; endeavour to be habitually holy, which is our conformity to the nature of God; and actually holy, which is our conformity to the will of God. I will not enlarge upon this, because I have preffed the imitation of thefe particular perfections, goodnefs, patience, justice, truth, and faithfulness, upon other texts. I fhall only mention two arguments, to excite and quicken our defires and endeavour after holiness.

1. Holiness is an imitation of the highest excellency and perfection. Holiness, I told you, fignifies a feparation from fin and vice, and all moral imperfection, and confequently, doth comprehend and take in all the moral perfections of the divine nature, the goodness, and mercy, and patience, and juftice, and veracity, and faithfulnefs of God; now these are the very beauty and glory of the divine nature.

The first thing that we attribute to God, next to his being, is his goodnefs, and thofe other attributes which have a neceflary connexion with it; for his greatness and majefty is nothing else but the glory which refults from his united perfections, efpecially from his goodnefs, and thofe perfections which are a-kin to it. Separate from God thefe perfections which holinefs includes in it, and what would be left but an omnipotent evil, an eternal being, infinitely knowing, and infinitely able to do mifchief? Which is as plain and notorious a contradiction, and as impoffible

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