The Remaining Discourses on the Attributes of God, Sermon 1
SERMON I.Vol. VII. The Goodneſs of God.
PSAL. CXLV.9.
The Lord is Good to all, and his tender Mercies are over all his Works.
THE Subject which I have now propoſed to treat of, is certainly one of the Greateſt and Nobleſt Arguments in the World, the Goodneſs of God, the Higheſt and moſt Glorious Perfection, of the beſt and moſt Excellent of Beings, than which nothing deſerves more to be conſidered by us, nor ought in Reaſon to affect us more. The Goodneſs of God is the cauſe, and the continuance of our Beings, the Foundation of our Hopes, and the Fountain of our Happineſs; our greateſt comfort, and our faireſt Example, the chief Object of our love and praiſe and admiration, the joy and rejoycing of our hearts; and therefore the Meditation and Diſcourſe of it muſt needs be pleaſant and delightful to us; the great difficulty will be, to confine our ſelves upon ſo copious an Argument, and to ſet bounds to that which is of ſo vaſt an extent, the Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works.
Which words are an Argument, which the divine Plalmiſt uſeth, to ſtir up himſelf and others to the praiſe of God: At the 3. v. he tells us, that the Lord is great, and greatly to be praiſed; and he gives the reaſon of this, v. 8. and 9. from thoſe Properties and Perfections of the Divine Nature, which declare his Goodneſs, the Lord is gracious, and full of compaſſion, ſlow to anger, and of great mercy; the Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works; where you have the Goodneſs of God declared, together with the amplitude and extent of it, in reſpect of the Objects of it; the Lord is good to all.
In the handling of this Argument, I ſhall do theſe four things.
Firſt, Conſider what is the proper Notion of Goodneſs, as it is attributed to God.
Secondly, Shew that this Perfection belongs to God.
Thirdly, Conſider the Effects and the Extent of it.
Fourthly, Anſwer ſome Objections, which may ſeem to contradict and bring in queſtion the Goodneſs of God.
Firſt, What is the proper Notion of Goodneſs, as it is attributed to God.
There is a dry Metaphyſical Notion of Goodneſs, which only ſignifies the Being and eſſential properties of a thing; but this is a good word ill beſtowed; for in this ſenſe, every thing that hath Being, even the Devil himſelf, is good.
And there is a Moral Notion of Goodneſs; and that is twofold.
1. More general, in oppoſition to all Moral evil and imperfection, which we call ſin and vice; and ſo the Juſtice, and Truth, and Holineſs of God, are in this ſenſe his Goodneſs. But there is,
2. Another Notion of Moral Goodneſs, which is more particular and reſtrained; and then it denotes a particular Virtue in oppoſition to a particular Vice; and this is the proper and uſual acceptation of the word Goodneſs; and the beſt deſcription I can give of it is this; that it is a certain propenſion and diſpoſition of mind, whereby a perſon is enclined to deſire and procure the happineſs of others; and it is beſt underſtood by its contrary, which is an envious diſpoſition, a contracted and narrow Spirit, which would confine happineſs to it ſelf, and grudgeth that others ſhould partake of it, or ſhare in it; or a malicious and miſchievous temper, which delights in the harms of others, and to procure trouble and miſchief to them. To communicate and lay out our ſelves for the good of others, is Goodneſs; and and ſo the Apoſtle explains doing good, by communicating to others, who are in miſery, or want, Heb. 13.16. but to do good and to communicate forget not. The Jews made a diſtinction between a righteous and a good man; to which the Apoſtle alludes, Rom. 5.7. ſcarcely for a righteous man, will one die; yet peradventure for a good man, one would even dare to die. The righteous man was he, that did no wrong to others; and the good man he, who was not only not injurious to others, but kind and beneficial to them. So that Goodneſs is a readineſs and diſpoſition to communicate the good and happineſs which we enjoy, and to be willing others ſhould partake of it.
This is the Notion of Goodneſs among men; and 'tis the ſame in God, only with this difference, that God is originally and tranſcendently good; but the Creatures are, the beſt of them, but imperfectly good, and by derivation from God, who is the fountain and original of goodneſs; which is the meaning of our Saviour, Luke 18.19. when he ſays, there is none good ſave one, that is God. But tho' the degrees of Goodneſs in God, and the Creatures, be infinitely unequal, and that Goodneſs which is in us, be ſo ſmall and inconſiderable, that compared with the Goodneſs of God, it does not deſerve that name; yet the eſſential Notion of Goodneſs in both, muſt be the ſame; elſe when the Scripture ſpeaks of the Goodneſs of God, we could not know the meaning of it, and if we do not at all underſtand what it is for God to be good, it is all one to us (for ought we know) whether he be good or not; for he may be ſo, and we never the better for it, if we do not know what Goodneſs in God is, and conſequently when he is ſo, and when not.
Beſides that the Goodneſs of God is very frequently in Scripture propounded to our imitation; but it is impoſſible for us to imitate that, which we do not underſtand what it is; from whence it is certain, that the goodneſs which we are to endeavour after, is the ſame that is in God, becauſe in this we are commanded to imitate the Perfection of God, that is, to be good and merciful as he is, according to the rate and condition of Creatures, and ſo far as we, whoſe Natures are imperfect, are capable of reſembling the Divine Goodneſs.
Thus much for the Notion of goodneſs in God, it is a propenſion and diſpoſition in the Divine Nature, to communicate being and happineſs to his Creatures.
Secondly, I ſhall endeavour to ſhew, in the next place, that this Perfection of Goodneſs belongs to God; and that from theſe three heads.
I. From the Acknowledgments of Natural Light.
II. From the Teſtimony of Scripture, and Divine Revelation. And,
III. From the Perfection of the Divine Nature.
I. From the Acknowledgments of Natural Light. The generality of the Heathen agree in it, and there is hardly any Perfection of God more univerſally acknowledged by them. I always except the Sect of the Epicureans, who attribute nothing but Eternity and Happineſs to the Divine Nature; and yet if they would have conſidered it, Happineſs without Goodneſs is impoſſible. I do not find that they do expreſly deny this Perfection to God, or that they aſcribe to him the contrary; but they clearly take away all the Evidence and Arguments of the Divine Goodneſs; for they ſuppoſed God to be an immortal and happy Being, that enjoyed himſelf, and had no regard to any thing without himſelf, that neither gave Being to other things, nor concerned himſelf in the happineſs or miſery of any of them; ſo that their Notion of a Deity, was in truth the proper Notion of an idle Being, that is called God, and neither does good nor evil.
But ſetting aſide this atheiſtical Sect, the reſt of the Heathen did unanimouſly affirm and believe the Goodneſs of God; and this was the great foundation of their Religion; and all their Prayers to God, and Praiſes of him, did neceſſarily ſuppoſe a perſwaſion of the Divine Goodneſs. Whoſoever prays to God, muſt have a perſwaſion, or good hopes of his readineſs to do him good; and to praiſe God, is to acknowledge that he hath received good from him. Seneca hath an excellent paſſage to this purpoſe, He (ſays he) that denies the Goodneſs of God, does not ſurely conſider the infinite number of Prayers, that with hands lifted up to Heaven are put up to God, both in private and publick; which certainly would not be, nor is it credible, that all Mankind ſhould conſpire in this madneſs of putting up their Supplications to deaf and impotent Deities, if they did not believe, that the Gods were ſo good, as to confer benefits upon thoſe who prayed to them.
But we need not to infer their belief of God's Goodneſs, from the acts of their devotion, nothing being more common among them, than expreſly to attribute this Perfection of Goodneſs to him, and among the Divine Titles, this always had the preeminence, both among the Greeks and Romans; foreign, Deus optimus maximus, was their conſtant ſtile; and in our Language, the name of God ſeems to have been given him from his Goodneſs. I might produce innumerable paſſages out of the Heathen Authers to this purpoſe; but I ſhall only mention that remarkable one out of Seneca, primus deorum cultus eſt deos credere; deinde reddere illis majeſtatem ſuam, reddere bonitatem, ſine quâ nulla majeſtas, The firſt act of Worſhip is to believe the Being of God; and the next, to aſcribe Majeſty or greatneſs to him; and to aſcribe Goodneſs, without which there can be no Greatneſs.
II. From the teſtimony of Scripture and Divine Revelation. I ſhall mention but a few of thoſe many Texts of Scripture, which declare to us the Goodneſs of God, Exod. 34.6. where God makes his Name known to Moſes, the Lord, the Lord God gracious and merciful, long ſuffering, abundant in goodneſs and truth. Pſal. 86.5. Thou Lord art good, and ready to forgive. Pſal. 119.68. Thou art good, and doſt good. And that which is ſo often repeated in the Book of Pſalms, O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good, and his mercy endureth for ever. Our bleſſed Saviour attributes this Perfection to God, in ſo peculiar and tranſcendent a manner, as if it were incommunicable, Luke 18.19. There is none good ſave one, that is God. The meaning is, that no Creature is capable of it, in that excellent and tranſcendent degree, in which the Divine Nature is poſſeſt of it.
To the ſame purpoſe are thoſe innumerable Teſtimonies of Scripture, which declare God to be gracious, and merciful, and long ſuffering; for theſe are but ſeveral Branches of his Goodneſs; his Grace is the freeneſs of his Goodneſs, to thoſe who have not deſerved it; his Mercy is his Goodneſs to thoſe who are in miſery; his Patience is his Goodneſs to thoſe who are guilty, in deferring the Puniſhment due to them.
III. The Goodneſs of God may likewiſe be argued from the Perfection of the Divine Nature, theſe two ways.
1. Goodneſs is the chief of all Perfections, and therefore it belongs to God.
2. There are ſome Footſteps of it in the Creatures, and therefore it is much more eminently in God.
1. Goodneſs is the higheſt Perfection, and therefore it muſt needs belong to God, who is the moſt perfect of Beings. Knowledge and Power are great Perfections, but ſeparated from Goodneſs, they would be great Imperfections, nothing but craft and violence. An Angel may have Knowledge and Power in a great degree, but yet for all that be a Devil. Goodneſs is ſo great and neceſſary a Perfection, that without it there can be no other, it gives Perfection to all other excellencies; take away this, and the greateſt excellencies in any other kind, would be but the greateſt imperfections. And therefore our Saviour ſpeaks of the goodneſs and mercy of God, as the ſum of his Perfections; what one Evangeliſt hath, be ye merciful, as your Father which is in Heaven is merciful, is rendred in another, be ye therefore perfect, as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect. Goodneſs is ſo eſſential to a perfect Being, that if we once ſtrip God of this property, we rob him of the Glory of all his other Perfections; and therefore when Moſes deſired to ſee God's Glory, he ſaid, he would make all his goodneſs to paſs before him. Exod. 33.19. This is the moſt amiable Perfection, and as it were the Beauty of the Divine Nature, Zach. 9.17. how great is thy goodneſs, how great is thy beauty? ſine bonitate nulla majeſtas, without goodneſs there can be no majeſty. Other excellencies may cauſe fear and amazement in us: but nothing but Goodneſs, can command ſincere love and veneration.
2. there are ſome footſteps of this Perfection in the Creatures, and therefore it muſt be much more eminently in God. There is in every Creature ſome repreſentation of ſome divine Perfection or other, but God doth not own any Creature to be after his image, that is deſtitute of Goodneſs. The Creatures, that want Reaſon and Underſtanding, are incapable of this Moral Goodneſs we are ſpeaking of; Man is the firſt in the rank of Creatures, that is endowed with it, and he is ſaid to be made after the image of God, and to have dominion given him over the Creatures below him, to ſignifie to us, that if man had not been made after God's image, in reſpect of Goodneſs, he had been unfit to rule over other Creatures; becauſe without Goodneſs, dominion would be Tyranny and Oppreſſion. And the more any Creature partakers of this Perfection of Goodneſs, the more it reſembles God; as the Bleſſed Angels, who behold the face of God continually, and are thereby tranſformed into his image from glory to glory, their whole buſineſs and imployment is, to do good; and the Devil, tho' he reſemble God in other Perfections of Knowledge and Power, yet becauſe he is evil, and envious, and miſchievous, and ſo contrary to God in this Perfection, he is the moſt oppoſite and and hateful to him of all Creatures whatſoever.
And if this Perfection be in ſome degree in the Creature, it is much more in God; if it be derived from him, he is much more eminently poſſeſt of it himſelf. All that Goodneſs which is in the beſt natured of the Sons of Men, or in the moſt glorious Angels of Heaven, is but an imperfect and weak repreſentation of the Divine Goodneſs.
The Third thing I propoſed to conſider, was the Effects of the Divine Goodneſs, together with the large extent of it, in reſpect of the Objects of it, the Lord is good to all, and his tender Mercies are over all his Works; thou art good and doſt good, ſays David, Pſal. 119.68. The great evidence and demonſtration of God's Goodneſs, is from the Effects of it. To the ſame purpoſe St. Paul ſpeaks, Acts 14.17. He hath not left himſelf without Witneſs, in that he doth good, and ſends us Rain from Heaven, and fruitful Seaſons.
I ſhall conſider the Effects of the Divine Goodneſs, under theſe Two Heads.
I. The univerſal extent of God's Goodneſs to all his Creatures.
II. I ſhall conſider more particularly the Goodneſs of God to Men, which we are more eſpecially concern'd to take notice of.
I. The univerſal extent of his Goodneſs to the whole Creation, the Lord is Good to all. The whole Creation furniſheth us with clear evidences and demonſtrations of the Divine Goodneſs; which way ſoever we caſt our Eyes, we are encountered with undeniable Inſtances of the Goodneſs of God; and every thing that we behold, is a ſenſible demonſtration of it; the Heavens declare the Glory of God, and the Firmament ſheweth his handy work, ſays the Pſalmiſt, Pſal. 19.1. And again, Pſal. 33.5. The Earth is full of the Goodneſs of the Lord. The whole Frame of this World, and every Creature in it, and all the ſeveral degrees of Being and Perfection, which are in the Creatures, and the Providence of God towards them all, in the preſervation of them, and providing for the happineſs of all of them, in ſuch degrees as they are capable of it, are a plentiful demonſtration of the Divine Goodneſs, which I ſhall endeavour to illuſtrate in theſe Four Particulars.
1. The univerſal Goodneſs of God appears in giving Being to ſo many Creatures.
2. In making them all ſo very good, conſidering the variety, and order, and end of them.
3. In his continual preſervation of them.
4. In providing ſo abundantly for the welfare and happineſs of all of them, ſo far as they are capable and ſenſible of it.
1. The extent of God's Goodneſs appears in giving Being to ſo many Creatures. And this is a pure effect of Goodneſs, to impart and communicate Being to any thing. Had not God been good, but of an envious, and narrow, and contracted nature, he would have confined all Being to himſelf, and been unwilling, that any thing beſides himſelf ſhould have been: but his Goodneſs prompted him to ſpread and diffuſe himſelf, and ſet his Power and Wiſdom on work, to give Being to all that variety of Creatures, which we ſee and know to be in the World, and probably to infinite more than we have the knowledge of. Now it is not imaginable, that God could have any other motive to do this, but purely the Goodneſs of his Nature. All the motives imaginable beſides this, muſt either be indigency and want, or conſtraint and neceſſity; but neither of theſe can have any place in God, and therefore it was meer Goodneſs, that moved him to give Being to other things; and therefore all Creatures have reaſon, with the four and twenty Elders in the Revelations, to caſt their crowns before the throne of God, ſaying, thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honour, and power, for thou haſt created all things, and for thy pleaſure (that is of thy meer goodneſs) they are and were created.
(1.) Indigency and Want can have no place in God; becauſe he that hath all poſſible Perfection, hath all plenty in himſelf; from whence reſults All-ſufficiency and compleat Happineſs. So that the Divine Nature need not look out of it ſelf for Happineſs, being incapable of any addition to the Happineſs and Perfection it is already poſſeſt of, ipſa ſuis pollens opibus nihil indiga noſtri. We make things for our uſe, Houſes to ſhelter us, and Cloaths to keep us warm; and we propagate our Kind, to perpetuate our ſelves in our poſterity: But all this ſuppoſeth imperfection, and want, and mortality, to none of which the Divine Nature is liable and obnoxious.
Nay it was not want of glory, which made God to make the World. 'Tis true indeed, the glory of God's Goodneſs doth herein appear, and Creatures endowed with underſtanding have reaſon to take notice of it, with thankfulneſs, praiſe, and admiration: but there is no happineſs redounds to God from it, nor does he feed himſelf with any imaginary content and ſatisfaction, ſuch as vainglorious perſons have, from the fluttering applauſe of their Creatures and Beneficiaries. God is really above all bleſſing and praiſe. It is great condeſcention and goodneſs in him, to accept of our acknowledgments of his benefits, of our imperfect praiſes, and ignorant admiration of him; and were he not as wonderfully good, as he is great and glorious, he would not ſuffer us to ſully his great and glorious Name, by taking it into our Mouths; and were it not for our advantage and happineſs, to own and acknowledge his benefits, for any real happineſs and glory that comes to him by it, he could well enough be without it, and diſpenſe with us for ever entertaining one thought of him; and were it not for his goodneſs, might deſpiſe the praiſes of his Creatures, with infinitely more reaſon than wiſe Men do the applauſe of Fools. There is indeed one Text of Scripture, which ſeems to intimate that God made all Creatures for himſelf, as if he had ſome need of them, Prov. 16.4. The Lord hath made all things for himſelf; yea even the wicked for the day of evil. Now if by God's making all things for himſelf, be meant, that he aimed at and intended the manifeſtation of his Wiſdom, and Power, and Goodneſs in the Creation of the World, 'tis moſt true, that in this ſenſe, he made all things for himſelf: but if we underſtand it ſo, as if the Goodneſs of his Nature did not move him thereto, but he had ſome deſign to ſerve Ends and Neceſſities of his own upon his Creatures, this is far from him. But it is very probable, that neither of theſe are the meaning of this Text, which may be rendered with much better ſenſe, and nearer to the Hebrew, thus, God hath ordained every thing, to that which is fit for it, and he wicked hath he ordained for the day of evil; that is, the Wiſdom of God hath fitted one thing to another, puniſhment to ſin, the evil day to the evil doers.
(2.) Nor can Neceſſity and Conſtraint have any place in God. When there was no Creature yet made, nothing in Being but God himſelf, there could be nothing to compel him to make any thing, and to extort from him the effects of his bounty: Neither are the Creatures neceſſary effects and emanations from the Being of God, flowing from the Divine Eſſence, as water doth from a Spring and as light ſtreams from the Sun▪ If ſo, this indeed would have been an Argument of the fullneſs of the Divine Nature, but not of the bounty and goodneſs of it; and it would have been matter of Joy to us tha… we are, but not a true ground o… thankfulneſs from us to God; a… we rejoyce and are glad that th… Sunſhines, but we do not give it any thanks for ſhining, becauſe it ſhine… without any intention or deſign t… do us good; it doth not know tha… we are the better for its light, nor di… intend we ſhould be, and therefore we have no reaſon to acknowledge its goodneſs to us.
But God, who is a Spirit endowed with Knowledge and Underſtanding, does not act as natural and material Cauſes do, which act neceſſarily and ignorantly, whereas he acts knowingly and voluntarily, with particular intention and deſign, knowing that he does good, and intending to do ſo freely and out of choice, and when he hath no other conſtraint upon him but this, that his goodneſs enclines his will to communicate himſelf, and to do good: So that the Divine Nature is under no Neceſſity, but ſuch as is conſiſtent with the moſt perfect Liberty and freeſt Choice.
Not but that Goodneſs is eſſential to God, and a neceſſary Perfection of his Nature, and he cannot poſſibly be otherwiſe than good: but when he communicates his goodneſs, he knows what he does, and wills and chuſeth to do ſo.
And this kind of Neceſſity is ſo far from being any impeachment of the Divine Goodneſs, that it is the great Perfection and praiſe of it. The Stoick Philoſophers miſtaking this, do blaſphemouſly advance their wiſe and virtuous man above God himſelf; for they reaſon thus, A wiſeman is good out of choice, when he may be otherwiſe; but God out of neceſſity of nature, and when he cannot poſſibly be otherwiſe than good. But if they had conſidered things aright, they might have known, that this is an imperfection in their wiſe man, that he can be otherwiſe than good; for a power to be evil is impotency and weakneſs. The higheſt Character that ever was given of a man, is that which Velleius Paterculus gives of Cato, that he was vir bonus, quia aliter eſſe non potuit, a good man, becauſe he could not be otherwiſe; this applyed to a mortal Man, is a very extravagant and undue commendation; but yet it ſignifies thus much, that it is the higheſt Perfection, not to be able to be otherwiſe than good: and this is the Perfection of the Divine Nature, that goodneſs is eſſential to it, but the expreſſions and communications of his goodneſs are ſpontaneous and free, deſigned and directed by infinite Knowledge and Wiſdom.
This is the firſt: the ſecond particular is, that God hath made all Creatures very good, conſidering the variety, and order, and end of them. But this I ſhall reſerve to another opportunity.