008. CHAPTER 2 - THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD.
CHAPTER 2 - THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD. IN this chapter, we propose to consider the Attributes or Perfections of the Divine Being.
God is infinite, but man is finite; hence we may infer, at once, that it is impossible for us thoroughly to comprehend Jehovah. That which comprehends must be greater than that which is comprehended. But God is infinitely superior to all created intelligences; therefore, it is impossible that any should thoroughly comprehend his nature. The incomprehensibility of God was admitted by the heathen philosophers, as is beautifully shown in the history of Simonides. This philosopher being asked by his prince “What is God?” demanded first a day, then a week, then a month, to consider the subject; but finally left the question unanswered, declaring that “the more he examined the subject, the more he was convinced of its incomprehensibility.” Our imbecility on this subject is forcibly portrayed by Zophar, in the eleventh chapter of the book of Job: “Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know? The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea.” To comprehend the divine essence is impossible. All we can do is, to consider the attributes of God, so far as he has been pleased to reveal them to man. In this sense of the word, it is both our privilege and duty to “acquaint ourselves with him.” By many divines, the attributes of God have been divided into different classes. They have been considered as absolute or relative; positive or negative; proper or metaphorical; internal or external; natural or moral; communicable or incommunicable; and a late able and voluminous writer contemplates them in five classes-as primary, essential, natural, moral, or consummate. But these divisions we consider unnecessary, and most of them of questionable propriety, and more calculated to perplex and mystify than to simplify the subject. Therefore, we shall adopt no classification whatever.
Before we enter particularly into the discussion of the several attributes, we remark, that the divine nature is not to be understood as divided into separate and distinct parts; but all the attributes are to be considered as pertaining fully, and at the same time, to the one undivided essence. Nor are we to suppose that there is any discrepancy between them. By no means. The divine justice and mercy cannot be opposed to each other; but all the attributes of God are united in the most perfect harmony. “They are called attributes, because God attributes them to, and affirms them of, himself; properties because we conceive them proper to God, and such as can be predicated only of him, so that by them we distinguish him from all other beings; perfections, because they are the several representations of that one perfection which is himself; names and terms, because they express and signify something of his essence; notions, because they are so many apprehensions of his being as we conceive of him in our minds.” (Lawson’s Theo-Politica.) In the presentation of a list of the divine attributes, it will appear that their number may be increased or diminished, accordingly as we are general or minute in our division; and, after all, we cannot say that we have a perfect knowledge even of their number. For who can tell what properties may belong to the divine nature, of which Heaven has not seen fit to make any revelation to us, and of which we can form no conception? Therefore, all at which we shall aim is, to present a faint outline of the divine perfections, as we find them delineated in the Holy Scriptures. The following are therein clearly portrayed, viz.:
I.Unity.
II.Spirituality.
III.Eternity.
IV.Omniscience.
V.Wisdom.
VI.Omnipotence.
VII.Omnipresence.
VIII.Immutability.
IX.Holiness.
X.Truth.
XI.Justice.
XII.Goodness.
I. UNITY. That there is but one God, is clearly revealed in the following passages: Isaiah 45:21-22 : “There is no God else beside me. I am God and there is none else.” Deuteronomy 6:4 : “Hear, O Israel! the Lord our God is one Lord;” and Deuteronomy 4:35 : “The Lord he is God; there is none else beside him.” Psalms 86:10 : “For thou art great, and doest wondrous things; thou art God alone.” 1 Corinthians 8:4 : “There is none other God but one.” Ephesians 4:6 : “One God and Father of all.” 1 Corinthians 8:6 : “But to us there is but one God.” The unity of God, a doctrine so essential to true worship, is thus distinctly and repeatedly declared. A plurality of gods is the leading error of paganism. When once the vessel is launched forth from the safe moorings of eternal truth, how wildly will she toss upon the sea of error and delusion! Thus, when the heathen nations gave up the unity of God, how soon did they plunge into the dark gulf of polytheism! “They changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things.” Well has the apostle said: “Their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.” For surely reason, if not woefully perverted, would say, There can be but one Great Supreme.
II. SPIRITUALITY. That the divine essence is purely spiritual, is a doctrine clearly revealed. In John 4:24, it is declared that “God is a Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:17 : “Now the Lord is that Spirit.” These passages sufficiently establish the spirituality of the divine essence. But how infinitely does the refined purity of his spiritual nature transcend the utmost grasp of finite minds! Who can analyze this spiritual essence? But the mystery involved in the spirituality of the divine essence can be no argument against the existence of that spiritual essence. We can comprehend matter only in reference to its properties: we know nothing as to its essence. How, then, can we comprehend the spiritual essence of God? We can be more certain of nothing than we are of the fact, that something exists of an essence entirely distinct from matter, and possessing properties totally unlike those of matter. We know as certainly as we can know any thing, that mere matter does not possess intelligence. It can neither think, nor reason, nor feel. It can have no consciousness of happiness or misery, of right or wrong. And yet it is impossible for us to doubt that something does exist possessed of all these powers. We have within ourselves the evidence of this fact, too overwhelming to be doubted. This, then, is what we mean by spirit. Our Saviour says: “God is a Spirit.” However incomprehensible may be the nature of this Spirit, yet it is indisputable that our Lord used the term in contradistinction from matter. Hence, not only reason, but Scripture, disproves the theory of a material Deity. Pantheism and materialism, in all their forms and phases, are alike repugnant to both reason and revelation. In their nature and tendency they are subversive of all religion. The eternal existence of an infinite, personal Spirit, is the only theory of religious belief adapted to the condition of man, as an accountable but dependent moral agent. As certain as it is that matter does not possess in itself thought, and reason, and skill, and the power of self-motion, so sure is it that there exists, as the Author, Creator, and Upholder of all things, a Being whose nature is pure Spirit. The nature of this purely spiritual essence is a theme too wonderful for us. But when we think of the immensity, and beauty, and grandeur of his works, the vastness and the majesty of his dominion, we can only conceive of him as a pure, unoriginated, and infinite Spirit. Hence, as certain as it is that God exists, so certain is it that spirituality is one of his essential attributes.
III. ETERNITY, or duration without beginning or end, is set forth as an attribute of God. Psalms 90:2 : “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.” Psalms 102:24-27 : “I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days: thy years are throughout all generations. Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure; yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed; but thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.” Isaiah 57:15 : “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity.” 1 Timothy 6:16 : “Who only hath immortality.” Deuteronomy 33:27 : “The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” 1 Timothy 1:17 : “Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever.” Psalms 106:48 : “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting.” Isaiah 40:28 : “Hast thou not known, hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord; the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary?” The above passages abundantly exhibit the eternity of the Deity. In the contemplation of this attribute, we are overwhelmed with the immensity of the subject. Every thing around us, all that we behold, once had a beginning; the earth, the sea, the mountains and hills, yea, the angels themselves, are but of yesterday compared with God. Of him only may it be said, that he always was. Let imagination take her boldest sweep into that eternity which was, yet she never can reach the period in which God did not exist. Then let her whirl upon her lofty wing, and dart, with the velocity of thought, for millions upon millions of ages, into the immeasurable range of eternity in the future, but she never can reach the period in which God will cease to be. In an emphatic sense, applicable to no creature, may it be said that God is eternal. The voice of reason abundantly corroborates revelation upon this subject. For, had not God existed from all eternity, it would have been impossible for his existence ever to have commenced. There could have been no originating cause; and an effect without a cause is unphilosophical and absurd. If any thing now exists, something must have been eternal; but we are assured of the present existence of things, therefore reason irresistibly concludes that God is eternal.
IV. OMNISCIENCE. This essential attribute is forcibly presented in the following passages:-Hebrews 4:13 : “Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight; but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.” Acts 15:18 : “Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.” Psalms 139:1-4 : “O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether.” Psalms 139:12. “Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee, but the night shineth as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.” 1 Chronicles 28:9 : “For the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts.” Psalms 147:5 : “Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.”
Thus, we perceive clearly that God possesses the attribute of knowledge in the highest possible perfection. With him there can be nothing difficult, nothing mysterious; but all things are alike plain to his understanding and open to his view. This perfect knowledge is restricted to no particular part of his dominions, but extends alike to heaven, earth, and hell; yea, throughout the illimitable bounds of immensity. Nor may we suppose that it is applied only to things which, according to the judgment of finite capacities, are of consequence and importance. It extends to all things, great and small. The insect, as well as the angel, is perfectly known in all its mysterious organization and minute history. The infinite knowledge of God not only comprehends every thing, great and small, whether animate or inanimate, material or immaterial throughout the immensity of space, but also throughout the infinite periods of duration. All things, past and future, are just as clearly seen, and as fully comprehended, by the omniscient God, as the plainest events of the present.
Again: this knowledge is not to be considered as having a possible existence in some things, and an actual existence in others, accordingly as they may be deemed more or less important, so as to deserve, or not deserve, the divine attention; but, in all cases, it is an actually existing knowledge. Indeed, the power to know, and knowledge itself, are quite distinct things. The former constitutes no part of the attribute of omniscience, but is properly embraced in the attribute of omnipotence. Therefore, to say that God does not actually know all things, but, in reference to some things, only possesses the power to know them, without choosing to exercise that power, would be plainly to deny him the perfection of omniscience.
Again: the knowledge of Deity must be understood perfectly to accord with the things known, not only in reference to their nature, but also in reference to the period of their existence. He sees and knows things as they are, whether present, past, or future; and not as they are not. Thus, to suppose that he sees and knows past events as future, or future events as past, would be absurd. And it would seem equally absurd to suppose that he sees or knows either past or future events as present when they are not so in fact. It is true that “all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do”-the past and the future are seen with as much clearness as the present; but to say that they are seen as present, when in fact they are not present, would imply that God does not see and know things as they really are; and, consequently, that his knowledge is imperfect. The sentiment that “with God there is one eternal now,” if it be understood to mean only that present, past, and future, are all seen at the same time with equal clearness, is both rational and scriptural; but if it be understood to imply that with Deity, past, present, and future, are all the same, and that duration, with him, is essentially different in itself from what it is with us, and does not flow on in a regular succession of periods, the idea is either unintelligible or absurd.
Once more: the knowledge of God, although it has no influence upon the nature of things, so as to render that necessary which would otherwise be contingent, yet it sees them as they are; necessary events as necessary, and contingent events as contingent. But in reference to contingent events, we are not to infer any imperfection in the divine prescience. For while God sees that an event, because he has made it contingent, may take place or not, according to the circumstances upon which the contingency turns, yet the divine penetration darts through the maze of contingencies, and knows certainly whether the event will take place or not, and all about the circumstances by which it shall be determined.
Thus we conclude, from Scripture and reason, that the great Creator of all sees the end from the beginning, and possesses knowledge in absolute perfection.
Upon the divine prescience of contingent events, we subjoin the following remarks from Mr. Watson: “The great fallacy in the argument, that the certain prescience of a moral action destroys, its contingent nature, lies in supposing that contingency and certainty are the opposites of each other. It is, perhaps, unfortunate that a word which is of figurative etymology, and which consequently can only have an ideal application to such subjects, should have grown into common use in this discussion, because it is more liable, on that account, to present itself to different minds under different shades of meaning. If, however, the term contingent, in this controversy, has any definite meaning at all, as applied to the moral actions of men, it must mean their freedom, and stands opposed, not to certainty, but to necessity. A free action is a voluntary one; and an action which results from the choice of the agent is distinguished from a necessary one in this, that it might not have been, or have been otherwise, according to the self-determining power of the agent. It is with reference to this specific quality of a free action that the term contingency is used-it might have been otherwise; in other words, it was not necessitated. Contingency in moral actions is, therefore, their freedom, and is opposed, not to certainty, but to necessity. The very nature of this controversy fixes this as the precise meaning of the term. The question is not, in point of fact, about the certainty of moral actions; that is, whether they will happen or not, but about the nature of them, whether free or constrained, whether they must happen or not.
Those who advocate this theory care not about the certainty of actions, simply considered; that is, whether they will take place or not the reason why they object to a certain prescience of moral actions is, that they conclude that such a prescience renders them necessary. It is the quality of the action for which they contend, not whether it will happen or not. If contingency meant uncertainty-the sense in which such theorists take it-the dispute would be at an end. But though an uncertain action cannot be foreseen as certain, a free, unnecessitated action may; for there is nothing in the knowledge of the action in the least, to affect its nature. Simple knowledge is, in no sense, a cause of action, nor can it be conceived to be causal, unconnected with exerted power; for mere knowledge, therefore, an action remains free or necessitated, as the case may be. A necessitated action is not made a voluntary one by its being foreknown; a free action is not made a necessary one. Free actions foreknown will not, therefore, cease to be contingent. But how stands the case as to their certainty? Precisely on the same ground. The certainty of a necessary action, foreknown, does not result from the knowledge of the action, but from the operation of the necessitating cause; and, in like manner, the certainty of a free action does not result from the knowledge of it, which is no cause at all, but from the voluntary cause; that is, the determination of the will. It alters not the case in the least, to say that the voluntary action might have been otherwise. Had it been otherwise, the knowledge of it would have been otherwise; but as the will, which gives birth to the action, is not dependent upon the previous knowledge of God, but the knowledge of the action upon foresight of the choice of the will, neither the will nor the act is controlled by the knowledge; and the action, though foreseen, is still free or contingent.
“The foreknowledge of God has, then, no influence upon either the freedom or the certainty of actions, for this plain reason, that it is knowledge, and not influence; and actions may be certainly foreknown, without their being rendered necessary by that foreknowledge. But here it is said, if the result of an absolute contingency be certainly fore-known, it can have no other result, it cannot happen otherwise. This is not the true inference. It will not happen otherwise; but, I ask, why can it not happen otherwise? Can is an expression of potentiality; it denotes power or possibility. The objection is, that it is not possible that the action should otherwise happen. But why not? What deprives it of that power? If a necessary action were in question, it could not otherwise happen than as the necessitating cause shall compel; but then that would arise from the necessitating cause solely, and not from prescience of the action, which is not causal. But if the action be free, and it enter into the very nature of a voluntary action to be unconstrained, then it might have happened in a thousand other ways, or not have happened at all: the foreknowledge of it no more affects its nature in this case than in the other. All its potentiality, so to speak, still remains, independent of foreknowledge, which neither adds to its power of happening otherwise, nor diminishes it, But then we are told that the prescience of it, in that case, must be uncertain; not unless any person can prove that the divine prescience is unable to dart through all the workings of the human mind, all its comparison of things in the judgment, all the influences of motives on the affections, all the hesitancies and haltings of the will, to its final choice. ‘Such knowledge is too wonderful for us,’ but it is the knowledge of Him who understandeth the thoughts of man afar off.” (Watson’s Institutes.)
V. WISDOM. In strictness of analysis, the wisdom of God is only a modification of his knowledge, and might with propriety be included as a subdivision under the head of Omniscience. But as wisdom is so important a phase of knowledge that it is spoken of in Scripture in contradistinction from it, we allow it a separate consideration here. St. Paul evidently distinguishes wisdom from knowledge, in the following passages:-”O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!” Romans 11:33. “For to one is given, by the Spirit, the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge, by the same Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 12:8. Hence, as that peculiar aspect of knowledge indicated by the term wisdom, is, by the sacred writers, distinguished from knowledge, in its more restricted acceptation, we cannot err in following so authoritative an example.
Dr. Webster has correctly defined wisdom to be, “The right use or exercise of knowledge. The choice of laudable ends, and of the best means to accomplish them.” To show that this attribute is ascribed to God in Scripture, only a few quotations are necessary. “In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Colossians 2:3. “To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the Church the manifold wisdom of God.” Ephesians 3:10, “Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever.” 1 Timothy 1:17. “To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever.” Jude 1:25. The result of this teaching is, that God possesses, in his own nature, eternal and unchangeable wisdom, in the highest conceivable sense; that is, he possesses the attribute of universal, illimitable, perfect, and infinite wisdom. Nor can this wisdom be understood as in any sense progressive. It is not arrived at by successive mental exercises or efforts, as is the case with finite beings. His wisdom admits of no increase amid the cycles of duration, but exists, as an element of his essence, from eternity. At one intuitive glance, so to speak, it surveys all things, whether possible or actual, in all their qualities, relations, forces, and issues. Nor is it originated or improved by any concatenated process of ratiocination, or comparing of external things; but it is all of himself-the outbirth of his own infinite fullness. It is not to be contemplated as the product of any thing exterior to God, or as the exercise of a divine faculty, but it is the spontaneous outflowing of the divine perfections-it is God himself, shining forth in his own eternal and changeless attributes. The wisdom of God is seen in all his works and ways; and volumes might be written upon the subject, without a survey of half the field of interest it presents; but we deem it needless to enlarge.
If we look at creation around us, we see everywhere, not only the evidence of infinite skill and wisdom in the structure of things and in the adjustment of their parts and properties, but a wise adaptation of appropriate means to the most benevolent ends. With what consummate skill have the natural forces been arranged and combined for the production of the vegetable supplies of earth, and how admirably are they adapted to the wants of man and beast! The properties of the soils, the aptitudes of seeds, the rain and the sunshine of heaven, and the recurrence of the seasons, all combine to clothe the earth with verdure, and to fill the barns with plenty. But the richest display of the divine wisdom is seen in redemption’s wondrous scheme.
“Here the whole Deity is known, Nor dares a creature guess, Which of the glories brighter shone, The justice or the grace.” The gospel is the greatest manifestation of the divine wisdom ever witnessed by men or angels. This is that sublime “mystery” which St. Paul affirms was “made known” unto him “by revelation.” “Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men.” “That the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel.” “And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God.” Here is the “manifold wisdom of God”-the brightest illustration of this resplendent attribute ever unfolded to the view of “the principalities and powers in the heavenly places.” Well might the apostle exclaim, after such a contemplation of the divine wisdom, “Unto him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus, throughout all ages, world without end!”
VI. OMNIPOTENCE.
Perhaps no attribute of God is more gloriously exhibited in the Scriptures than this. That the divine power is infinite, is clearly seen in the first chapter of Genesis, where the stupendous work of creation is presented. To create something out of nothing, is a work which none but Omnipotence can perform. How wonderful then the power of God, by which, at a word, he called into being, not only this earth with all it contains, but perhaps millions of worlds, and systems of worlds, that now roll in their respective spheres throughout the immensity of space! In farther tracing the illustrations of this attribute, as contained in the Scriptures, we notice the following passages:-1 Chronicles 29:11-12 : “Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty; for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all.
Both riches and honor come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all.” Job 26:14 : “But the thunder of his power who can understand?” Psalms 62:11 : “God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God.” Jeremiah 10:12-13 : “He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion. When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.” Habakkuk 3:3-6 :
“God came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise. And his brightness was as the light; he had horns coming out of his hand; and there was the hiding of his power. Before him went the pestilence, and burning coals went forth at his feet. He stood, and measured the earth: he beheld, and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow; his ways are everlasting.” Genesis 35:11 : “And God said unto him, I am God Almighty.”
Thus we see how clearly the Scriptures exhibit the omnipotence of God. This, as well as all the other attributes, is possessed in the highest possible perfection. And we understand hereby that God is able to do all things which can be effected by omnipotent power. But, at the same time, all the attributes harmonize, and infinite power can never be exercised so as to perform what implies a contradiction in itself, or what is inconsistent with the divine nature; but this implies no imperfection in this attribute, but rather exhibits its superlative excellency.
VII. OMNIPRESENCE. The declarations of Scripture, in proof and illustration of this attribute, are at once clear and sublime. Psalms 139:7; Psalms 139:10 : “Whither shall I go from thy Spirit, or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there; if I make my bed in hell, behold thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.” Proverbs 15:3 : “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.” Jeremiah 23:24 : “Can any hide himself in secret places, that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord.” Isaiah 66:1 : “Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.” 2 Chronicles 6:18 : “Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have built.” Amos 9:2-3 : “Though they dig into hell, thence shall my hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down. And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them.” Acts 17:28 : “For in him we live, and move, and have our being.” Ephesians 1:23 : “The fullness of him that filleth all in all.” The foregoing are sufficient to show that God is everywhere present at the same time. As one has expressed it, “His center is everywhere, and his circumference nowhere.” This attribute seems, in the very nature of things, to be essential to the divine character; for, without it, we do not see how the infinite power, wisdom, goodness, and other attributes, could be exercised; and perhaps it was their ignorance of the divine ubiquity which first led the heathen nations into the superstitions of polytheism. How incomprehensible is this, as well as all the other attributes of God! We can be present at but one place at the same time; nor, so far as we can judge from reason and revelation, can any created intelligence occupy, at the same time, two separate and distinct positions in space. Fallen spirits, holy angels, and “the spirits of just men made perfect,” may pass with the velocity of thought from world to world; but we have no evidence that there is any but the one omnipresent Being.
VIII. IMMUTABILITY. That God is possessed of this attribute, is taught in the following texts:-Malachi 3:6 : “For I am the Lord, I change not.” James 1:17 : “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” Psalms 102:27 : “But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.” Hebrews 1:12 : “But thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.” By the unchangeableness of God, as thus taught, we are to understand that all his attributes continue invariable. What he is now, in his own essential nature, he ever has been, and ever will be. But this does not imply that he may not change his dispensations toward men. Indeed, the unchangeableness of God itself requires that his dealings with his creatures should so vary as to correspond with the condition of different nations and individuals, and of the same nation or individual at different times. Thus he may look with complacency upon the returning sinner, with whom he was offended during his rebellion, while the apostate, who once shared his smiles, is now the object of his holy displeasure. The immutability of God seems necessarily to result from the perfection of his character. As all his attributes are infinite, it is clear that they cannot he increased in perfection. They could not suffer diminution or deterioration without the destruction of his Godhead; consequently, they must forever continue the same.
IX. HOLINESS. This attribute is otherwise termed rectitude, or righteousness. It is the basis of what is considered the moral character of God. The scriptures setting forth this perfection of the divine Being are numerous and explicit. Such are the following: “Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look upon iniquity.” Habakkuk 1:13. “Yea, the stars are not pure in his sight.” Job 25:5. “Be ye holy, for I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:16. “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts.” Isaiah 6:3. “And they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty.” Revelation 4:8. “Unto thee will I sing with the harp, O thou Holy One of Israel.” Psalms 71:22. The infinite holiness of God implies the absolute exclusion of every conceivable principle of moral evil, and the possession, in an unlimited degree, of every conceivable principle of moral good. It implies the possession of an unchangeable will and nature, inclining him, in every conceivable case and at all times, to approve, love, and do, that which is right; and to condemn, hate, and abstain from, that which is wrong. In other words, the nature, the will, and all the acts of God, invariably and freely conform to his own inimitable perfections. Absolute holiness inheres in the divine nature, so that God can no more sanction, approve, or look upon, moral evil without abhorrence, than he can cease to be God. God can only will or approve what accords with his own perfections, with his infinite rectitude, and his unswerving righteousness. Hence it is manifest that the principles of moral rectitude are as eternal and immutable as the divine perfections. Indeed, the principles of holiness flow as naturally from the nature of God as the effect from the cause; or, more properly speaking, infinite holiness is God-it is the substratum of all his perfections, and the perfections of God are God. They cannot be taken from him, nor can they pertain to any created entity in the vast universe.
X. TRUTH. This attribute might be included as a subdivision under the head of holiness. Indeed, it is only one specific form in which holiness is manifested-one phase in which it may be viewed. As truth is a moral good, and falsehood a moral evil; and as holiness embraces all moral good, it necessarily follows that truth, in strictness of speech, is included in the essence of holiness. Indeed, all the divine attributes so perfectly harmonize, and some of them, like kindred drops, so flow into each other, that it is sometimes difficult, either in our forms of thought or of speech, to distinguish one from another. That God is possessed of the attribute of truth, appears from the following scriptures: God is said to be “abundant in goodness and truth.” Exodus 34:6.
“The truth of the Lord endureth forever.” Psalms 117:2.
“God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” Numbers 23:19.
“In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.” Titus 1:2.
“That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie.”Hebrews 6:18.
“Yea, let God be true, but every man a liar.” Romans 3:4.
“Thy word is true from the beginning.” Psalms 119:160.
“A God of truth, and without iniquity; just and right is he.” Deuteronomy 32:4.
“All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth.”Psalms 25:10.
“Thy truth reacheth unto the clouds.” Psalms 108:4.
“Which keepeth truth forever.” Psalms 146:6. The truth of God may be viewed either in the sense of veracity or of faithfulness. In either acceptation, God is a God of truth, in the most absolute sense. He can no more deceive his creatures by uttering falsehood, than he can be deceived himself. Nor can he fail in the fulfillment of his promises. It is true, many of his promises are conditional; and sometimes, when these conditions are not expressed, they are implied. But in every case the promises of God are, “Yea and amen.” If we perform the condition, the promise is sure. “Heaven and earth shall pass away,” saith our Lord, “but my words shall not pass away.” The purity of the true religion is gloriously exhibited in contrast with the lying vanities of paganism. While, in heathen systems of worship, we see nothing but vanity, deception, and falsehood, we find revealed in the Bible a God whose nature is truth, and a system of worship composed of truth, without any mixture of falsehood or error. This attribute harmonizes with all the others; for as God is pure, and just, and good, he can never deceive his creatures, or permit his word to fail.
XI. JUSTICE. That God possesses this attribute in absolute perfection, is seen from the following passages:
Psalms 89:14 : “Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne.”
Isaiah 45:21 : “There is no God else besides me, a just God, and a Saviour: there is none besides me.”
Zephaniah 3:5 : “The just Lord is in the midst thereof; he will not do iniquity.”
Romans 3:26 : “That he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” That God is just, appears from the entire history of the divine administration, as presented in the Bible. Indeed, the preservation of the principles of justice untarnished, is essential to the maintenance of the divine government over the intelligent universe. And should shortsighted mortals, in any instance, fancy an apparent failure in the preservation of the divine justice in this world, we may rest assured that the future judgment “will bring to light the hidden things of darkness,” and fully “justify the ways of God to men.”
Justice, like truth, is only one form in which the holiness of God is manifested. The divine justice may be viewed as either legislative or judicial.
Legislative justice prescribes what is right, and prohibits what is wrong; and defines the reward or punishment connected with the one or the other.
Judicial justice relates to the application of law to human conduct. It may be remunerative-conferring a proper reward upon the obedient; or vindictive-inflicting due punishment upon the disobedient.
It should be remembered, however, that the reward which God confers on the righteous, is not of debt, but of grace. We are to be rewarded, not for our works, but according to our works. In this sense the apostle says: “God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love.”
Hebrews 6:10. And our Lord says: “My reward is with me to give every man according as his work shall be.”Revelation 22:12. In all the divine administration, the principles of strict justice are maintained. It was well spoken by Elihu: “For the work of a man shall he render unto him, and cause every man to find according to his ways: yea, surely God will not do wickedly, neither will the Almighty pervert judgment.” Job 34:11-12. The justice of God is administered with impartiality. It is true, in the distribution of temporal mercies, there is often great inequality in the allotments of Divine Providence, both as to nations and individuals. But a complete adjustment on this subject is realized by the application of the Saviour’s maxim: “Unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required.” Luke 12:48. With God, “there is no respect of persons.” Long ago it was said: “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” And the awards of the great day shall render a satisfactory response to the interrogatory, in the face of assembled worlds.
XII. GOODNESS. This attribute, as contradistinguished from holiness, or universal rectitude, signifies benevolence. It is an internal, fixed principle of good-will or kindness, delighting in the diffusion of happiness to all intelligent or sentient existences, so far as possible, consistently with the divine perfections. Benevolence, love, mercy, and long-suffering, or forbearance, are all included in the attribute of goodness, either as different modes of expressing the same thing, or as different forms in which the principle is exhibited. This attribute is taught in the following scriptures:
“O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good; for his mercy endureth forever.” Psalms 106:1.
“O taste and see that the Lord is good.”Psalms 34:8.
“None is good, save one, that is God.” Luke 18:19.
“And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long- suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, and transgression, and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty.” Exodus 34:6-7.
“For how great is his goodness.”Zechariah 9:17. The Lord is called “the God of love.” 2 Corinthians 13:11.
And. St John declares that “God is love.”1 John 4:8. This is one of the most interesting and endearing perfections of God. It constitutes the very essence of the Deity. All the other attributes, properly understood, harmonize with love. To this principle neither truth, justice, nor holiness can be opposed. That God delights in the happiness of his creatures, is not only taught with great emphasis and fullness in Scripture, but is abundantly manifest in his works and providence. In all nature we behold the clearest proof of the benevolent designs of its Author. Although evil, both natural and moral, exists in the world, we can see no evidence that, in a single instance, it has been produced by the original contrivance of the Creator.
If God be good, and delighteth in the happiness of his creatures, how came pain and death into the world? This question has often been urged, and its solution has long puzzled the minds and taxed the ingenuity of philosophers and divines. Perhaps a better reply, in so small a compass, is nowhere to be found than that furnished by Mr. Wesley:
“Why is there sin in the world? Because man was created in the image of God; because he is not mere matter, a clod of earth, a lump of clay, without sense or understanding, but a spirit like his Creator; a being endued not only with sense and understanding, but also with a will exerting itself in various affections. To crown all the rest, he was endued with liberty, a power of directing his own affections and actions, a capacity of determining himself, or of choosing good and evil. Indeed, had not man been endued with this, all the rest would have been of no use. Had he not been a free as well as an intelligent being, his understanding would have been as incapable of holiness, or any kind of virtue, as a tree or a block of marble. And having this power-a power of choosing good and evil-he chose the latter-he chose evil. Thus ‘sin entered into the world.’” (Wesley’s Sermons.) But while we contemplate man as a sinner, ruined by the fall, the attribute of infinite love is the one which, of all the divine perfections, addresses itself to our nature the most affectingly, the most tenderly. The amazing love of God in redemption, is the strongest appeal that can reach the human soul. When this has lost its force, the last trace of the divine image has been effaced, and all is lost-utter ruin ensues. The mercy of God is the outgoing of his goodness and love, in manifestations of pity and compassion for such as are in distress or affliction, or are exposed to misery or ruin. Goodness and Love look down upon the fallen race, and desire their happiness; Wisdom devises the remedy; Pity lets fall her tear of sympathy; and Mercy comes to the rescue. But while the guilty turn with indifference or scorn from all the offers of grace tendered by the hand of Mercy, Long-suffering waits with enduring patience, reiterates the pleadings of Mercy, crying, “Why will ye die?” till Goodness, and Love, and Pity, and Mercy, and Long-suffering, having all made their appeals only to be rejected and set at naught, join with Justice, and Holiness, and every perfection of God, in pronouncing upon the incorrigible their fearful and irrevocable doom.
Thus we have presented a faint outline of some of the principal attributes of God, as revealed in his word. But after our utmost research, how imperfect is our knowledge of the great Supreme! We can but exclaim: “Lo! these are parts of his ways; but how little a portion is heard of him? but the thunder of his power who can understand!”