A Goodly Heritage

What is holiness in God? We understand this, as we do most things about God, by way of negation: by what it is not rather than by what it is. We used to say that God's holiness is that whereby His nature is free from all kinds of mixture, from the least soil and filth of sin. Therefore, God is called light because light is so pure a creature, and so free from any mixture of pollution that it can be among filthy things without being defiled itself. So God can work with sin itself without any defilement of His nature. If you would know what the holiness of God is from a positive position, I would describe it to you thusly: it is the infinite rectitude and perfection of the will of God especially whereby He wills and works all things suitable to the infinite excellency of His own being. The excellency of God is the highest and, therefore, the rule of all excellency, and the will of God, being always suitable to His own infinite excellency and unable to vary in the least from it, is ...

"It may be a use of a great deal of encouragement to all the ministers of God to preach to people. It may be that sometimes even they are discouraged, and think to themselves, "Lord, how hard are the hearts of men, and how difficult it is to work upon the hearts of men! I have labored with all my might. I have studied and sought to invent all the arguments I possibly could, the most moving arguments that I could possibly imagine. When I have been in my study, I have thought to myself, 'Surely if the Lord is pleased to bless these truths that I am to deliver, they will work upon the hearts of people.'" And when it comes to the preaching of that sermon, perhaps the minister finds that they are not at all stirred one whit. "Why, Lord, what shall I do then? I cannot think ever to speak things that are more powerful than those that I have spoken, and those have done no good. Therefore I am afraid I shall never do good." "Oh, no, do not say so and d...