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SERMON CXXX.

Concerning the perfection of God.

MATTH. V. 48.

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

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The first fermon on this text.

HESE words are the conclusion which our Saviour draws from those 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 curse 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 ropounds to them the pattern of the divine perfection; telling them, that being thus affected towards their enemies, they should refemble God, ver. 45. That ye may be the children of your heavenly Father; for he maketh the sun to rise on the evil, and on the good; and sendeth rain on the just, and on the unjust.

And then he tells us, that if we be not thus affected towards our enemies, and those that have been injurious to us, we are so 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 Same? And if ye salute 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 designs to advance men to, we must endeavour to be like God in these perfections of goodness and mercy, and patience; Be ye therefore perfett, as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. In which words we have,

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

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econdly, It is propounded as a pattern to our imitation: Be ye therefore perfect, &c. In handling of these words I shall do these four things :

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

II. I shall lay down some 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 those divine qualities are, which our Saviour doth here more especially propound to our imitation.

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

I. I shall consider how we are to conceive of the divine perfections: These two ways:

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

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

1. By afcribing all imaginable and possible perfection to God; abfolute and universal 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 short 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 boundless and unlimited, and infinitely to

exceed our highest thoughts and apprehenfions.

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

Some things may seem to be perfections, which in truth are not, because they are plainly impossible, and involve a contradiction: as that what has once been, should by any power be made not to have been; or that any thing, which by its nature is limited and confined to one place, should at the same time be in another. These things in reason are impossible, and therefore not to be supposed to fall under any power how unlimited soever. 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 some perfections, which do argue and suppose imperfections in them; as motion, the quickness and swiftness whereof in creatures is a perfection, but then it supposeth a finite and limited nature: For a boundless 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 supposeth a greater imperfection.

And there are also some imaginable degrees of perfection, which, because they are inconsistent with other perfections, are not to be admitted in the divine nature. For instance, such degrees of goodness and mercy may be imagined, as would quite exclude and shut out justice; and on the other hand, fuch a strictness 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 esteemed perfections. For this is a certain truth, that nothing is a divine perfection, which evidently clasheth with any other necessary and effential perfection of the divine nature. We must so confider the perfections of God, that they may accord and confist together; and therefore it cannot be a perfection

fection of God to be so good and gracious as to ercourage fin, and to overthrow the reverence of 's own laws and government. It is not goodness but easiness and weakness, to be contented to se perpetually injured and affronted It is not patience to be willing to be everlastingly trampled upon. So likewise on the other hand, it is not ap fection to be so severe and rigorous, as to fmite a finner in the instant that he offends, not to be able to refrain from punishment, and to give time for re

pentance.

But whatever perfection is conceivable or possible, and argues no imperfection, nor is repugnant to any other necessary perfection, is to be afcribed to God; for this is the most natural and easy conception that we can have of God, that he is the most perfect being. This natural light doth first suggest and offer to the minds of men, and we cannot conceive of God as mere power and will, without wisdom and goodness. Hence it is that the Greeks call God very often τὸ Κρειτόν, the best of beings: and the Latin, Optimus Maximus, the best and the greatest; beatissima & perfectissima natura, constans & perfecta ratio, the happiest and most perfett nature, immutable and absolute reason; and many other fuch expressions which we meet with in the writings of the heathen Philosophers. I readily grant, that the first and most obvious thought which men have of God, is that of his greatness and majesty; but this neceffarily involves or infers his goodness; as Seneca excellently reasons, Primus deorum cultus eft deos credere, dein reddere illis majestatem fuam, reddere bonitatem, fine qua nulla majestas; "The first worship of the gods, is to believe their being, next to afcribe to them greatness and majesty, to "afcribe to the goodness, without which there can " be no majesty."

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

ciple

ciple, that perfection is to be ascribed 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 aside, as a thing not fit to be spoken of him.

And in the scripture we do every where find perfection ascribed to the nature and works and laws of God, to every thing that belongs to him, or proceeds from him. Job xxxvii. 16. Dost thou know the wondrous works of him that is perfect in knowledge? And again, Canst thou by searching find out God? Canst 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 shall not need to consider particularly the several perfections of the divine nature; I shall only give you a brief scheme and draught of them. Whatever perfection can be imagined either in the manner of being or acting, is to be ascribed 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 several other perfections; for mere matter is incapable both of knowledge and liberty, being determined by necessary laws and motions; and yet without knowledge and liberty, there can be no wisdom nor goodness. We say of God, that he is of himself, and without cause, and does not owe his being to any other; and consequently 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 otherwise; for to suppose any thing to deliberate or confult about its own being, is to suppose it to be before it is,

We must say of God likewise, that he is immenfe, and every where present, because to be limited is an imperfection; and that he is eternal, that is, ever was, and shall be; for to cease to be, is a greater imperfection than sometime not to have been.

And