150 `The third Sign PART III. Excellency of intelligent Be,ings : 'Tis this that gives Beauty to, or rather is the Beauty of their natural Perfections and Qualifications. Moral Excellency is theExcellency of natural Excellencies. Natural )uslifications art either excellent or otherwife, accordingas they are join'd with moral Excellency or not. Strength and Knowledge don't render any Being lovely, without Holinefs ; but more hateful : Tho' they render them more lovely, when join'd with Holinefs. Thus the elect Angels are the more glorious for their Strength and Knowledge, becaufe thefe natural Perfections of their's, are fanaified by their moral Perfection. But tho' the Devils are very flrong, and of great natural Underftanding, they ben't the more lovely : They are more terrible indeed, but not the more amiable ; but on the contrary, the more hateful. The Holinefs of an inteiligentCreature, is the Beauty of all his natural Perfections. And fo it is in God, ac- cording to our Way of conceiving of the divine Being : Holinefs is in a pecular Manner the Beauty of the divine Nature. Hence we often read of the Beauty of Holinefs ; Pfal. 29. 2. Pfal. q6. 9. and i Ica. 3. This renders all his other Attributes glorious and lovely. 'Tis the Glory of God's Wifdom, that 'tis a holy Wifdom, and not a wicked Subtilty and Craftinefs. This makes his Majefty lovely, and not meetly dreadful and horrible, that it is a holy Majefty. 'Tis the Glory of God's Immutability, that it is a holy Immutability, and not an inflexiole Obftinacy in Wickednefs. And therefore it mutt needs be, that a Sight of God's Lovelinefs muff begin here. A true Love to God mutt begin with a Delight ills Holinefs, and not with a Delight in any other Attribute ; for no other Attribute is truly lovely without this, and no otherwife than as (according to our Way of conceiving of God) it derives its Love- linefs from this ; and therefore it is impoffible that other Attributes fhould appear lovely, in their true Lovelinefs, 'till this is feen ; and it is impofibie that any Perfection of the divine Nature fhould be loved with true Love, 'till this is Ioved. If the true Lovelinefs of all God's Perfeaions, arifes from the Lovelinefs of his Holinefs ; then the true Love of all his Perfeaions, arifes from the Love of his Ho- linefs. They that don't fee the Glory of God's Holinefs, can't fee any Thing of the true Glory of his Mercy and Grace : They fee nothing of the Glory of thofe Attributes, as any Excellency of God's Nature, as it is in it felf; tho' they may be affected with them, and love them, as they concern their Intereft : For thefe Attributes are no Part of the Excellency of God's Nature, as that is excellent in it felf, any otherwife than as they are included in his Holinefs, more largely taken ; or as they are a Part of his moral Perfection. As the Beauty of the divine Nature does primarily confift in God's Holinefs, fo does the Beauty of all divine Things. Herein confifts the Beauty of the Saints, that they areSaints, or holy Ones : 'Tis the
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