;sèrni XC. The Goodnefs of God. 779 II. From the teftimony of Scripture and Divine Revelation. Ì fhall mention -bur a few of thofe many Texts of Scripture, which declare to us the Goodnefs of God; Exod. 34. 6. where God makes his name known to Mofes, the Lord, the LordGodgracious andmerciful, long fuffering, abundant in goodnefs and truth. Pfal. 86. 5. Thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive. PfaL ti9. 68. Thou art good, and doll good. And that which is fo often repeated in the Book of Pfalms, 0 dive thanks auto the Lord, for he is good, andhis mercy endureth for ever. Our bief- fed Saviour attributes this Perfection to God, in fo peculiar and tranfcendent a manner, as if it were incommunicable. Luke so. 19. There is nonegoodfave one, that is God The meaning is, that no Creature is capable of it, in that excellent and tranfcendent degree, in which the Divine Nature is poffeffed of it. To the fame purpofe are thofe innumerable Teftimonies of Scripture, which declaré God to be gracious, and merciful, and long- fuffering ; for thefe are but .feveral Branches of his Goodnefs ; his Grace is the freenefs of his Goodnefs, to thofe who have not deferved it ; his Mercy is his Goodnefs to thofe who are in mifery ; his Patience is his Goodnefs to thofe who areguilty, in deferring the Pu- nifbment due to them. III. The Goodnefs of God may likewife be argued from the Perfection of the Divine Nature thefe two ways ; r. Goodnefs is the chief ofall 'Perfections, and therefore it belongs to God. z.. There are fome Footfteps of it in the Creatures, and therefore it is much more eminently in God. r. Goodnefs is the higheft Perfe&ion, and therefore it muft needs belong to God, who is the moft perfect of Beings.: Knowledge and Power are great Perfe- .dions, but feparated fromGoodnefs, they would be great Imperfeâions, nothing but craft and violence. An Angel may have Knowledge and Power in a great de- gree, but yet for all that be a Devil. Goodnefs is fo great and neceffary a Per- fection, that without it therecan be no other, it gives Perfection to all other ex- cellencies ; take away this, and the greateft Excellencies in any other kind, would be but the greateft Imperfections. And ,therefore our Saviour fpeaks ofthe Good- nefs and Mercy of God, as the Sum of his Perfections ; what one Evangelift bath, le ye merciful, asyour Father which is inHeaven ismerciful, is rendred in ano- ther, beye thereforeperfell, as your Father which is in Heaven is perfec`i. Goodnefs is fo effential to a perfe& Being, that if we once £trip God of this property, we rob him of the Gloryof all his other Perfections ; and therefore when Mofes de- fired to fee God's Glory, he Paid, he would make all his goodnefs topafs before him, Exod.33. t9. This is the molt amiable Perfection, and as it were the Beauty of the Divine Nature, Zach. 9.17. howgreat is thy goodnefs, howgreat is thy beauty ? fine bonitate nulla majeftas, without Goodnefs there can k no Majefly. Other Ex- cellencies may caufe fear and amazement in us : but nothing but Goodnefs can command finceré love and veneration. z. There are fome Footfteps of this Perfection in theCreatures, and therefore it muft be much more eminently in God. There is in every Creature fome reprefen- tation offome Divine Perfe.ion or other, but God doth not own any Creature to be after his image, that is deftitute of Goodnefs. TheCreatures that want Rea- fon and Underftanding are incapable of this Moral Goodnefs we are fpeaking of ; an is the firft in the rank of Creatures, that is endowedwith it, and he is faid to be made after the image of God, and to have dominion given him over the Creatures below him, to lignifie to us, that if Man had not been made after God's Image, in refpect of Goodnefs, he had been unfit to rule over other Creatures ; becaufe without Goodnefs, Dominion would be Tyranny and Oppreffion. And the more any Creature partakes of this Perfetion of Goodnefs, the more it refembles God,; as the Bleffed Angels, who behold the Face ofGod continually, and are thereby tránf- formed into his Imagefrom Glory toGlory, their whole bufinefs and employment is, to do good ; and the Devil, tho' he refembles God in other Perfections of Know- ledge and Power, yet becaufehe is evil, and envious, andmifchievous, and fo con- trary to God in this Perfection, he is the mot oppofite and hateful to him of all Creatures whatfoever. And
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