8. Holiness leads to heaven ; holiness is the king of heaven's highway, Isa. xxxv. 8., " An highway shall be there, and it shall be called the way of holiness." At Rome there was the temple of virtue and honour, and they were to go through the temple ol virtue to the temple of honour ; so we must go through the temple of holiness to the temple of heaven. Glory begins in virtue : 2 Pet. i. 3., " Who hath called us to glory and virtue?" Happiness is nothing else but the quintessence of holiness; holiness is glory militant, and happiness holiness triumphant.
Quest. What shall we do to resemble God in holiness ?
Ans. Have recourse to Christ's blood by faith; it is lavacrum animce ; legal purifi- cations were types and emblems of it, 1 John i. 7. The word is a glass to shew us our spots, and Christ's blood is a foun- tain to wash them away.
2. Pray for an holy heart: Ps. Ii. 10. " Create in me a clean heart, O God !" Lay thy heart before the Lord, and say, " Lord, my heart is full of leprosy ; it de- files all it toucheth ; Lord, I am not fit to live with such an heart, for I cannot ho- nour thee ; nor die with such an heart, for I cannot see thee. O ciTate in me a clean heart ! Send thy Spirit into me, to refine and purify me, that I may be a temple fit for thee the holy God to inhabit !"
3. Walk with them that are holy, Pror. xiii. 20., " He that walketh with wise men shall be wise." Be among the spices, and you will smell of them. Association be- gets assimilation nothing hath a greater power and energy to effect holiness than the communion of saints.
OF GOD'S JUSTICE
6S
OF GOD'S JUSTICE.
THE next attribute is God's justice. All God's attributes are identical, and are tlie same with liis essence. Though he hath several attributes whereby he is made known to us, yet he hath but one essence.
A cedar-tree may have several branches, vet it is but one cedar : so there are seve-
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ral attributes of God whereby we conceive of him, but only one entire essence. Well then, concerning God's justice, Deut. xxxii. 4., " Just and right is he ;" Job. xxxvii. 23., " Touching the Almighty, we cannot findjiim out ; he is excellent in power and in judgment." God is said to dwell in justice, Ps. Ixxxix. 14., "Justice and judg- ment are the habitation of thy throne." In God, power and justice meet. Power liolds the sceptre, and justice holds the ba- lance.
Quest. JF/tot is God's justice ?
Alls. Justice is to give every one his due. God's justice is the rectitude of his nature, whereby he is carried to the doing of that which is righteous aiid equal : Prov. xxiv. 12., " Shall not he render to every man according to his works ?" God is an im- partial judge, he judge th the cause ; men oft judge the person, but not the cause, which is not justice, but malice ; God judgeth the cause, Gen. xviii. 21., "I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it which is come up unto me." When the Lord is upon a punitive act, he weighs things in the balance ; he doth not punish rashly, he doth not go in the way of a riot, but a circuit, against offenders. Concern- ing God's justice, I shall lay down these six positions.
1st. God cannot be but just. His holi- ness is the cause of his justice. Holiness will not suffer him to do any thing but what is righteous. He can no more be un- just than he can be unholy.
2d. God's will is the supreme rule of justice ; it is the standard of equity. His will is wise and good. God wills nothing but what is just ; and therefore it is just because he wills it.
3d. God doth justice voluntarily : jus- tice flows from his nature. Men may act unjustly, because they are bribed or forc- ed : God will not be bribed, because of his justice; he cannot be forced, because of power. He doth justice out of love to jus- tice, Heb. i. 9., " Thou hast loved righ- teousness."
4th. Justice is the perfection of the Di- vine nature. Aristotle saith, "justice com- prehends in it all virtues." To say God is just, is to say, he is all that is excellent; perfections meet in him, as lines in a cen- tre. He is not only just, but justice itself.
5th. God never did, nor can do, the least wrong to his creatures. God's justice hath been wronged, but never did any wrong. God doth not go according to the summum jus, or rigour of the law ; he abates some- thing of his severity. He might inflict heavier penalties than he doth, Ezra ix. 13., " Thou hast punished us less than our ini- quities deserve;" our mercies are more than we deserve, and our punishments less.