254

SERMON CXXX.

Concerning the perfection of God.

MATTH. V. 48.

Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

T

The first fermon on this text.

HESE words are the conclufion which our Saviour draws from thofe precepts of greater perfection, than any laws that were extant in the world before, ver. 44. I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curfe you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for those that despitefully use you and perfecute you. And to perfuade them hereto, he propounds to them the pattern of the divine perfection; telling them, that being thus affected towards their enemies, they fhould refemble God, ver. 45. That ye may be the children of your heavenly Father; for he maketh the fun to rife on the evil, and on the good; and fendeth rain on the just, and on the unjust.

And then he tells us, that if we be not thus affected towards our enemies, and thofe that have been injurious to us, we are fo far from being like God, that we are but just level with the worst of men, ver. 46, 47. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have you; do not even the publicans the fame? And if ye falute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the publicans fo? And then concludes, that if we would attain that perfection which the Chriftian religion defigns to advance men to, we must endeavour to be like God in thefe perfections of goodnefs and mercy, and patience; Be ye therefore perfect, as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. In which words we have,

First, The abfolute perfection of the divine nature fuppofed: As your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

Secondly, It is propounded as a pattern to our imitation: Be ye therefore perfect, &c.

In handling of these words I fhall do thefe four things:

I. Confider how we are to conceive of the divine perfection.

II. I fhall lay down fome rules whereby we may govern and rectify our opinions concerning the attributes and perfections of God.

III. How far we are to imitate the perfections of God, and particularly what thofe divine qualities are, which our Saviour doth here more efpecially propound to our imitation.

IV. I fhall endeavour to clear the true meaning of this precept, and to fhew that the duty here intended by our Saviour is not impoffible to us; and then conclude this difcourfe with fome useful inferences from the whole.

I. I fhall confider how we are to conceive of the divine perfections: Thefe two ways:

1. By afcribing all imaginable and poffible perfefection to God.

2. By feparating and removing all manner of imperfection from him.

1. By afcribing all imaginable and poffible perfection to God; abfolute and univerfal perfection, not limited to a certain kind, or to certain particulars; but whatever we can conceive and imagine to be a perfection, is to be ascribed to him; yea, and beyond this, whatever poffible perfection there is, or poffible degree of any perfection, which our fhort understandings cannot conceive or comprehend, is to be afcribed to him. For we are not to confine the perfection of God to our imagination, as if we could find out the Almighty to perfection: But on the contrary, to believe the perfection of the divine nature to be boundlefs and unlimited, and infinitely to exceed our highest thoughts and apprehenfions.

Y 2

· More

More particularly, all kinds and degrees of perfection are to be afcribed to God, which either do not imply a plain contradiction, or do not argue fome imperfection, or are not evidently inconfiftent with fome other and greater perfection.

Some things may feem to be perfections, which in truth are not, because they are plainly impoffible, and involve a contradiction: as that what has once been, fhould by any power be made not to have been; or that any thing, which by its nature is limited and confined to one place, fhould at the fame time be in another. These things in reafon are impoffible, and therefore not to be fuppofed to fall under any power how unlimited foever. For if we once aIcribe contradictions to God, we destroy his being; because then to be, and not to be, power, and no power, would be all one.

And then there are fome perfections, which do argue and fuppofe imperfections in them; as motion, the quickness and fwiftnefs whereof in creatures is a perfection, but then it fuppofeth a finite and limited nature: For a boundlefs and immenfe being, that is every where present at once, hath no need to move from one place to another; and therefore, though motion be a perfection in creatures, there is no reason to afcribe it to God, because it fuppofeth a greater imperfection.

And there are alfo fome imaginable degrees of perfection, which, because they are inconfiftent with other perfections, are not to be admitted in the divine nature. For inftance, fuch degrees of goodnefs and mercy may be imagined, as would quite exclude and fhut out juftice; and on the other hand, fuch a ftrictness and a rigor of justice, as would leave no room at all for patience and mercy; and therefore fuch degrees are not really to be efteemed perfections. For this is a certain truth, that nothing is a divine perfection, which evidently clafheth with any other neceffary and effential perfection of the divine nature. We must fo confider the perfections of God, that they may accord and confift together; and therefore it cannot be a perfection

fection of God to be fo good and gracious as to encourage fin, and to overthrow the reverence of s own laws and government. It is not goodne's, but eafinefs and weakness, to be contented to perpetually injured and affronted It is not patience to be willing to be everlaftingly trampled upon. So likewife on the other hand, it is not apifection to be fo fevere and rigorous, as to fmite a finner in the inftant that he offends, not to be able to refrain from punishment, and to give time for repentance.

But whatever perfection is conceivable or possible, and argues no imperfection, nor is repugnant to any other neceffary perfection, is to be afcribed to God; for this is the most natural and eafy conception that we can have of God, that he is the most perfect being. This natural light doth firft fuggeft and offer to the minds of men, and we cannot conceive of God as mere power and will, without wifdom and goodness. Hence it is that the Greeks call God very often rò KperTlor, the best of beings: and the Latin, Optimus Maximus, the best and the greatest beatiffima & perfectiffima natura, conftans & per fecta ratio, the happiest and most perfect nature, immutable and abfolute reafon; and many other fuch expreffions which we meet with in the writings of the heathen Philofophers. I readily grant, that the first and most obvious thought which men have of God, is that of his greatnefs and majefty; but this neceffarily involves or infers his goodnefs; as Seneca excellently reafons, Primus deorum cultus eft deos credere, dein reddere illis majeftatem fuam, reddere bonitatem, fine qua nulla majeftas ; "The first worship of the gods, is to believe their being, next to afcribe to them greatnefs and majesty, to "afcribe to them goodness, without which there can "be no majefty.".

And we fhall find all along in Plato and Tully, and the best and wifeft writers among the Heathen, that they every where attribute. the highest excellencies and perfections to the divine nature, and do fteer and govern all their difcourfes of God by this prin

Y 3

siple

ciple, that perfection is to be afcribed to him: And whenever any thing is faid of God, they examine whether it be a perfection or not; if it be, they give it him as his due; if it be not, they lay it afide, as a thing not fit to be spoken of him.

And in the fcripture we do every where find perfection afcribed to the nature and works and laws of God, to every thing that belongs to him, or proceeds from him. Job xxxvii. 16. Doft thou know the wondrous works of him that is perfect in knowledge? And again, Canft thou by searching find out God? Canft thou find the Almighty to perfection? Pfal. xviii. 30. As for God his way is perfect. Pfal. xix. 7. The law of the Lord is perfect.

I fhall not need to confider particularly the feveral perfections of the divine nature; I fhall only give you a brief fcheme and draught of them. Whatever perfection can be imagined either in the manner of being or acting, is to be afcribed to God; therefore, as to his nature, we say that he is a spirit, that is, that he is not mere body or matter, because that would exclude feveral other perfecti ons; for mere matter is incapable both of knowledge and liberty, being determined by neceffary laws and motions and ; yet without knowledge and liberty, there can be no wifdom nor goodness. We fay of God, that he is of himself, and without cause, and does not owe his being to any other; and confequently that he is neceffarily, and that he cannot but be, and cannot be otherwise than he is; for that which is of itself, did not choose whether it would be or not, nor whether it would be thus or otherwife; for to fuppofe any thing to deliberate or confult about its own being, is to fuppofe it to be before it is,

We must fay of God likewife, that he is immenfe, and every where prefent, because to be limited is an imperfection; and that he is eternal, that is, ever was, and shall be; for to ceafe to be, is a greater imperfection than fometime not to have been.

And