Secondly, IF the Will of God, revealed in his Word, be the Rule whereby we ought to walk, and whereby he will judge us, then we fhould endeavour to know this Will of God, and do it. For all our hope of Happiness depends on our Obedience to God's Will, and we cannot obey his Will unless we understand it. And fure then it concerns us to know what God requires us to do, and upon what Terms he will accept and reward us: And when we underftand the Condition of Salvation, we fhould labour with Diligence to perform it. For though God made us without our felves, yet he will not fave us without our own Endeavour; but by his Grace we must work out our own Salvation with Fear and Trembling.

ALA RAMA M

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Of the GOODNESS of GOD.

HE fourth Relative Property of God is his Goodness; which is an Attribute, whereby he is effentially good in himfelf, and freely difpenfeth whatever is good in the Creatures. The very Nature of God excludeth all Freedom to be good: For he is good by his Effence; and he can no more ceafe to be good, than ceafe to be God. But if he were freely good in himfelf, he might become not good; which is inconfiftent with his

Per

Perfections. And therefore in himself he is neceffarily good, and cannot be otherwife. And in this respect there is none good but God, Mar. x. 18.

AND as God is effentially good in himself, so he is the Author of all good in the Creatures. For all created Goodness is derived from him; and by Conformity to him it is to be measured. Every good gift, and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, Jam. i. 17. And all the Good which God doth unto us he doth it freely, and not for any Merit in us; for all Acts of Goodnefs are free. And God beftoweth his Bleffings on us, not for our Righteousness, but of his meer Favour, Deut. ix. 4, 5, 6.

THE Goodness of God towards the Creatures is either general or Special.

THE general Goodness of God is that common Kindness which he extendeth unto all his Creatures, and chiefly unto Men, both bad and good. The Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works, Pfal. cxlv. 9. He maketh his fun to rife on the evil, and on the good; and fendeth rain on the juft, and on the unjust, Matth. v. 45. Nay God is fo gracious unto all Men, that he pitieth those who go on wilfully in their Sins, and defireth them to turn from their Ways and live. For as I live, faith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way, and live, Ezek. xxxiii. 11.

THE Special Goodness of God is that peculiar Favour which he fheweth towards the Righteous, in bleffing them with all fpiritual Graces and Mercies in this Life, and in crowning them with eternal Happiness in the next. Though God bestoweth many temporal Bleffings on the Wicked,

and

and intreateth them to repent, and offereth them Salvation upon their Repentance: Yet in a fpecial manner he is good to Ifrael, even to fuch as are of a clean heart, Pfal. lxxiii. 1. For God enricheth the Righteous only with his fpiritual Bleffings, and approveth their Ways, and encreafeth his Graces in them. And after they have finished their Courfe in Righteousness, he will give them a Crown of Glory.

THIS Attribute of God obligeth us to practife these three Duties.

Firft, THE Goodnefs of God towards us may excite us to afcribe all the Good which we have and do unto him. Every Bleffing that we enjoy cometh from him: And all the Good which we do, we do by his Grace. For what have we, that we have not received? And if we did receive it, how can we glory, as if we had not received it? 1 Cor. iv. 7. And what fhould make us boaft of any good which we perform? For all the good Actions which we do we owe to God's Goodness, who worketh them in us. And the more good we do, the more we are indebted to God; and confequently the more reafon we have to be humble, and to afcribe all the Glory to God, to whom it is due.

Secondly, THE Goodnefs of God towards us may encourage us to pray unto him for all good Things. The Ground of our praying unto God is, because we believe that he is the Author of all Bleffings, and ready to hear and help us. Though God be able, yet if he were not willing to do us good, we could have no Encouragement to come before the Throne of Grace. But feeing God is able to do whatsoever he please, and moft willing to blefs us, we may be fure that he

will deny us nothing that is truly good, if we fue unto him with an upright Heart.

Thirdly, THE Goodnefs of God towards us fhould move us to praise him. Other Perfections of God engage us to adore and worship him; but his Goodness chiefly obligeth us to praise him. As our Wants urge us to pray unto God for a Supply of them: So when he hath given us his Bleffings, we are bound to return him. Thanks. And fo good and bountiful is God towards us, that we never want Cause to praise

him.

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Of the Love of GOD.

HE fifth Relative Property of God is his Love; which is an Attribute whereby he neceffarily loveth himfelf as the chief Good, and freely loveth the Crea tures, as they are good. The Goodness of God being infinite, obligeth him to love himself above all. And in and for himself he loveth all his Creatures, and hateth nothing that he hath made. And efpecially he beareth Love towards Men, who are formed after his own Image.

THE Love of God towards Men is Two-fold; the one of Pity, the other of Complacency.

THE Love of Pity is that general Affection which God beareth to all Men while they are

yet

yet Sinners.

And out of this Love God fent Christ to redeem us, and offereth Salvation to us on Condition of Repentance, and affordeth us fufficient Means to enable us to repent. And this kind of Love in God towards us is abfolute, and goes before our Love and Obedience to him, For herein is love; not that we loved God, but that be loved us, and fent his fon to be the propitiation for our Sins, 1 Joh. iv. 10. And of his meer Favour alfo, God affordeth us Means of Grace without any Confideration of our Works, because without Grace we cannot do any good.

THE Love of Complacency, is that special Love which God beareth towards the Righteous; and out of which he accepteth and approveth us in Christ, and will reward us with eternal Happinefs. This Love of God towards us is conditional, and hath respect to our Faith and good Works. For God approveth and juftifieth the Righteous only; and he will confer Salvation on none but those that love him, and obey his Will. Though God of his meer Love, before we loved him, afforded us fufficient Means of Grace to make us holy: Yet having allowed us those Means, he requireth us to become good and holy by them, before he will fo love us, as to juftifie and fave us. For this Degree of Love in God, follows our loving of him, according to that of our Saviour, Joh. xvi. 27. The Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me. And Joh. xiv. 21. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: And he that loveth me, fhall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and manifeft my felf to him. So that we must obey God out of Love, before he will in Love acknowledge us for his, and pardon our Sins, and give us the Crown of Life. THE