ticularly confidered and evinced hereafter. But it is proper first to confider what evidence we have from the fcriptures, that the divine, moral character, or the holi. nefs of God, confifts wholly in this.

1. The holy law of God, which is not only the ftandard of holiness, or of moral excellence and perfection in the creature, but an expreffion and tranfcript of divine holiness, requires nothing but love or goodness; fo that he who LOVETH, as the law of God requires, is perfectly conformed to the law, which is the fame with being perfectly holy And this is perfect conformity or likeness to God in his moral character; for holiness in the creature is the moral image of God: Therefore God says to men, "Be ye holy; for I am holy.|

Jefus Chrift has taught us that the holy law of God requires nothing but love, in the following remarkable words, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy foul, and with all thy mind. This is the firft and great commandment. And the fecond is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." Agreeable to this, St. Paul fays, "Love is the fulfilling of the law." Nothing can be more exprefsly afferted than this, viz. that love exercised to a proper degree, and expreffed and acted out in all proper ways forms a perfect moral character; and therefore that the divine moral character confifts wholly in this.

2. The Apoftle John fays repeatedly that God is love and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and Go in him. Here all the moral perfections of God are com prehended in love, and by this the whole of his moral char acter is expressed. If we know what love is, we know what God is; for God is love. And if we dwell in love we are conformed to God, and he dwelleth in us, moral image is formed in us by love.

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3. When Mofes befought God to fhew him his glory; in answer to this petition, God faid, "I will make all my, GOODNESS pass before thee." And when he granted this petition, it is faid, "The Lord defcended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord paffed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth." The glory of God confifts in his moral perfection and character: But when he propofes to fhew this his glory to Mofes, he mentions his goodness, and nothing else, "I will make all my GOODNESS to pass before thee." q.d. I have no glory to show but my goodnels; this is the whole of my moral beauty and excellence. And when it is faid, "he proclaimed the name of the Lord; it means that he proclaimed his character, and declared that in which his moral perfection and glory did confift. And here is nothing but goodness or love mentioned. Love in the higheft, moft refplendent and glorious exercises and manifeftations of it, in the pardon and falvation of finners. TRUTH is indeed mentioned here; but not as any thing diftinct from goodness or benevolence; but as that which is neceffarily included in it. But this leads to a more particular confideration of the moral perfections of God, which are included in love or goodness.

1. Infinite wisdom is a moral perfection of God. Wifdom confifts in difcerning, and propofing the highest and best end, and fixing on, and pursuing the most proper and beft way and means, in order to accomplish it. Infinite wisdom does this with infinite ease, and without any poffibility of the leaft error and mistake. It is certain that this wisdom is a moral excellence, and belongs to the heart, and therefore does not confift in mere fpeculation, or that knowledge or understanding, which may be without any rectitude or goodness of difpofition or heart. Satan

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ture;

Satan, who has no moral goodness, has no wisdom. He does not discern and propose any good end, but the contrary; and is devifing and pursuing methods to accomplifh his evil defigns. Therefore, however clear and right his fpeculations may be in fome inftances, and though he may be very fubtil and cunning, he has no wisdom, and no true difcerning in things of a moral nabut all his proposals, defigns and purfuits, are directly the reverse of wisdom. They are confummate folly and madness. Therefore the fcriptures fpeak of wisdom, as a moral excellence; yea, as including all moral rectitude; and perfectly opposed to all folly or moral evil; and a wife and understanding heart, in the fcriptures, means a moral excellence dépending on the difpofition of the heart, and not confifting in any knowledge and speculations which are confiftent with a corrupt and evil heart. Of this every one who has attended to the Bible, must be fenfible; it is therefore needlefs to produce paffages here to prove it. This true wildom is called light, in the fcriptures; in which fense God is 'faid to be light, and to dwell in light. "God is light, and in him is no darkness at

all."

Wisdom and goodness, or benevolence, are not to be confidered as diftin&t, and the former as independent of the latter. Where there is no benevolence there is no wifdom; for where benevolence or goodness is not, there no good end is proposed and pursued, or discerned. It is benevolence alone that feeks the higheft general good, and proposes and pursues the beft end, and where this is not, the true good is not difcerned, and therefore the best end is not proposed, fought, or perceived. This therefore gives or contains all the light and discerning there is in true wisdom. If we have a juft idea of benevolence or goodness of heart, and know what that is, we have an

idea of true wisdom, the latter being neceffarily included in the former. This will be evident to every one who confiders and understands, what benovolence is, and what is true wifdom; fo that no farther proof of this point will be needed. This is agreeable to what is faid in the fcriptures of benevolence and wildom. There love or benevolence is reprefented as being or containing all that light and knowledge which is in true wisdom; and that where this love is not, there is not any degree of this light and difcerning. Every one that LOVETH, knoweth God. He that loveth not, knoweth not God. He that faith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother, abideth in the light: But he that hateth his brother, is in darkness, and walketh in darkness. Here love is faid to be, or imply, all that light and difcerning which is of a moral nature, in which true wifdom confifts; there fore love is wisdom. Love is true light and difcerning, and this is true wifdom. Love is the true knowledge of God, or implies it, and is effential to it. And in the knowledge of God true wisdom confifts. "If thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding thou fhalt then understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God: For the Lord giveth wifdom."*

Moreover, the scriptures teach us that wisdom, confidered as propofing and pursuing a good end by the best means, confifts in love. There it is faid, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: But fools defpife wisdom and inftuction. And unto man he faid, "The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding." By the fear of the Lord, is evidently meant, true piety, or obedience to God, in keeping his commandments; which confifts wholly in love, love

* Prov. ii. 2, 5, 6.

love to God and our neighbour. This, it is faid, is true wisdom, and is the beginning of wifdom. There is no wisdom where there is no love to God, and wisdom begins in this, and this is wifdom itfelf. Therefore, according to the fcriptures, love is wisdom, and understanding. Agreeable to this, all true virtue and moral rectititude, which confifts in love, is called wifdom, in the Proverbs of Solomon, and through the Bible; and the contrary is called folly : And the former is called underftanding and knowledge, the latter darkness and igno

rance.

Hence it appears, not only that wildom is moral rectitude and excellence, and a moral perfection of God; but also that it is nothing more than benevolence. or goodness, and is included in it; fo that when it is faid God is love, his wisdom is afferted, as well as his goodnefs; because love or goodnefs, is wisdom itself.

2. Juftice or righteoufnefs belongs to the moral character of God. This denotes in general the perfect and infinite rectitude of his will, in oppofition to all injuftice or unrighteousness. The fcriptures conftantly afcribe this to God, as effential to the perfection and glory of his character, as every one must be fenfible who is acquainted with the Bible. "He is the rock, his work is perfect: For all his ways are judgment: A God of truth, and without iniquity, JUST AND RIGHT IS HE." "The Lord is righteous in all his ways."

Righteousness often has a very extensive meaning in the scriptures, and feems frequently to be used to express the whole of the moral character and glory of God, or his moral rectitude in general; as it is alfo often used to exprefs the moral character of a man who is conformed to God, or true holiness. "Put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." Here righteoufnefs and true holiness, feem to mean the fame thing, and the latter, true holiness, is put as exegetical

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