THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD: Evans

THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD:

It is difficult to clearly distinguish between the attributes and

the nature of God. It is maintained by some that such a division

ought not to be made; that these qualities of God which we call

attributes are in reality part of His nature and essence.

Whether this be exactly so or not, our purpose in speaking of the attributes

of God is for convenience in the study of the doctrine of God.

It has been customary to divide the attributes of God into two classes:

the Natural, and the Moral.

The Natural attributes are

Omniscience,Omnipotence, Omnipresence, Eternity; the Moral attributes: Holiness,

Righteousness, Faithfulness, Mercy and Loving-kindness, and Love.

1. THE NATURAL ATTRIBUTES:

a) The Omniscience of God.

God Is a Spirit, and as such has knowledge. He is a perfect Spirit,

and as such has perfect knowledge. By Omniscience is meant that

God knows all things and is absolutely perfect in knowledge.

(1) Scriptures setting forth the fact of God's Omniscience.

_In general:_ Job 11:7, 8--"Canst thou by searching find

out God? Canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?" Job's

friends professed to have discovered the reason for his affliction,

for, forsooth, had they not found out the secrets of the divine

wisdom unto perfection. No, such is beyond their human, finite ken.

Isa. 40:28--"There is no searching of his understanding." Jacob's

captive condition might lead him to lose trust and faith in God.

But Jacob has not seen all God's plans--no man has. Job 37:16--"The

wondrous works of him which is perfect in knowledge." Could Job

explain the wonders of the natural phenomena around him? Much less

the purposes and judgments of God. Psa. 147:5--"His understanding

is infinite." Of His understanding there is no number, no computation.

Israel is not lost sight of. He who can number and name and call

the stars is able also to call each of them by name even out of

their captivity. His knowledge is not to be measured by ours. 1 John 3:20--

"God knoweth all things." Our hearts may pass over certain

things, and fail to see some things that should be confessed. God,

however, sees all things. Rom. 11:33--"How unsearchable are his

judgments and his ways past finding out." The mysterious purposes

and decrees of God touching man and his salvation are beyond all

human comprehension.

_In detail, and by way of illustration:_

_aa) His knowledge is absolutely comprehensive:_

Prov. 15:3--"The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping

watch upon the evil and the good." How could He reward and punish

otherwise? Not one single thing occurring in any place escapes His

knowledge. 5:21--"For the ways of man are before the eyes of the

Lord, and he pondereth all his goings." We may have habits hidden

from our fellow creatures, but not from God.

_ bb) God has a perfect knowledge of all that is in nature:_

Psa. 147:4--"He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them

all by their names." Man cannot (Gen. 15:5). How, then, can Israel

say, "My way is hid from the Lord?" Cf. Isa. 40:26, 27. Matt.

10:29--"One ... sparrow shall not fall to the ground without your

Father." Much less would one of His children who perchance might

be killed for His name's sake, fall without His knowledge.

_cc) God has a perfect knowledge of all that transpires in human

experience:_

Prov. 5:21--"For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord,

and he pondereth all his goings." All a man's doings are weighed

by God. How this should affect his conduct! Psa. 139:2, 3--"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." Before our thoughts are fully

developed, our unspoken sentences, the rising feeling in our hearts,

our activity, our resting, all that we do from day to day is known

and sifted by God. v. 4--"There is not a word in my tongue, but

lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether." Not only thoughts and

purposes, but words spoken, idle, good, or bad. Exod. 3:7--"I

have seen the affliction....heard the cry: know the sorrows of my

people which are in Egypt." The tears and grief which they dared

not show to their taskmasters, God saw and noted. Did God know

of their trouble in Egypt? It seemed to them as though He did not.

But He did. Matt. 10:29, 30--"But the very hairs of your head are

all numbered." What minute knowledge is this! Exod 3:19--"And I am

sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty

hand." Here is intimate knowledge as to what a single individual

will do. Isa. 48:18--"O that thou hadst harkened to my commandments!

then had thy peace have been as a river," etc. God knows what our

lives would have been if only we had acted and decided differently.

_dd) God has a perfect knowledge of all that transpires in human

history._

With what precision are national changes and destinies foretold

and depicted in Dan. 2 and 8! Acts 15:18--"Known unto God are all

his works from the beginning of the world (ages)." In the context

surrounding this verse are clearly set forth the religious changes

that were to characterize the generations to come, the which have

been so far literally, though not fully, fulfilled.

_ee) God knows--from, all eternity to all eternity what will take

place._

The omniscience of God is adduced as the proof that He alone is

God, especially as contrasted with the gods (idols) of the heathen:

Isa. 48:5-8--"I have even from the beginning declared it unto thee;

before it came to pass I showed it thee.....I have showed thee

new things from this time, even hidden things," etc. 46:9, 10--"I

am God....declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient

times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall

stand, and I will do all my pleasure." Here God is announcing to

His prophets things that are to occur in the future which it is

impossible for the human understanding to know or reach. There is

no past, present, future with God. Everything is one great living

present. We are like a man standing by a river in a low place, and

who, consequently, can see that part of the river only that passes

by him; but he who is aloof in the air may see the whole course of

the river, how it rises, and how it runs. Thus is it with God.

(2) Certain problems in connection with the doctrine of the Omniscience

of God.

How the divine intelligence can comprehend so vast and multitudinous

and exhaustless a number of things must forever surpass our

comprehension. "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and

knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his

ways past finding out!" (Rom. 11:33). "There is no searching of

his understanding; it is beyond human computation." We must expect,

therefore, to stand amazed in the presence of such matchless wisdom,

and find problems in connection therewith which must for the time,

at least, remain unsolved.

Again, we must not confound the foreknowledge of God with

His foreordination. The two things are, in a sense, distinct. The

fact that God foreknows a thing makes that thing certain but not

necessary. His foreordination is based upon His foreknowledge.

Pharaoh was responsible for the hardening of his heart even though

that hardening process was foreknown and foretold by God. The

actions of men are considered certain but not necessary by reason

of the divine foreknowledge.

b) The Omnipotence of God.

The Omnipotence of God is that attribute by which He can bring to

pass everything which He wills. God's power admits of no bounds

or limitations. God's declaration of His intention is the pledge

of the thing intended being carried out. "Hath he said, and shall

he not do it?"

(1) Scriptural declarations of the fact; In general:

Job 42:2.(R. V.)--"I know that thou canst do everything (all things),

and that no purpose of thine can be restrained." The mighty review

of all God's works as it passes before Job (context) brings forth

this confession: "There is no resisting thy might, and there is no

purpose thou canst not carry out." Gen. 18:14--"Is anything too

hard for the Lord?" What had ceased to be possible by natural means

comes to pass by supernatural means.

(2) Scriptural declaration of the fact; In detail:

_aa) In the world of nature:_

Gen. 1:1-3--"God created the heaven and the earth. And God said,

Let there be light, and there was light." Thus "he spake and it was

done. He commanded and it stood fast." He does not need even to give

His hand to the work; His word is sufficient. Psa. 107:25-29--"He

raiseth the stormy wind ... he maketh the storm calm." "Even the

winds and the sea obey him." God's slightest word, once uttered, is

a standing law to which all nature must absolutely conform. Nahum

1:5, 6--"The mountains quake at him ... the hills melt ... the

earth is burned at his presence ... the rocks are thrown down by

him." If such is His power how shall Assyria withstand it? This is

God's comforting message to Israel. Everything in the sky, in sea,

on earth is absolutely subject to His control.

_bb) In the experience of mankind:_

How wonderfully this is illustrated in the experience of Nebuchadnezzar,

Dan. 4; and in the conversion of Saul, Acts 9; as well as in the

case of Pharaoh, Exod. 4:11. James 4:12-15--" ... For that ye ought

to say, If the Lord will, we shall live and do this or that." All

human actions, whether present or future, are dependent upon the

will and power of God. These things are in God's, not in man's,

power. See also the parable of the Rich Fool, Luke 12:16-21.

_cc) The heavenly inhabitants are subject to His will and word:_

Dan. 4:35 (R. V.)--"He doeth according to his will in the army of

heaven." Heb. 1:14--"Are they (angels) not all ministering spirits,

sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?"

It has been said that angels are beings created by the power of

God for some specific act of service, and that after that act of

service is rendered they pass out of existence.

_dd) Even Satan is under the control of God_

Satan has no power over any of God's children saving as God permits

him to have. This fact is clearly established in the case of Job

(1:12 and 2:6). and Peter (Luke 22:31,32), in which we are told

that Satan had petitioned God that he might sift the self-righteous

patriarch and the impulsive apostle. Finally Satan is to be forever

bound with a great chain (Rev. 20:2). God can set a bar to the

malignity of Satan just as he can set a bar to the waves of the

sea.

c) The Omnipresence of God.

By the Omnipresence of God is meant that God is everywhere

present. This attribute is closely connected with the omniscience

and omnipotence of God, for if God is everywhere present He is

everywhere active and possesses full knowledge of all that transpires

in every place.

This does not mean that God is everywhere present in a bodily sense,

nor even in the same sense; for there is a sense in which He may

be in heaven, His dwelling place, in which He cannot be said to be

elsewhere. We must guard against the pantheistic idea which claims

that God _is_ everything, while maintaining the Scriptural

doctrine that He is everywhere present in all things. Pantheism

emphasizes the omnipresent activity of God, but denies His

personality. Those holding the doctrine of pantheism make loud

claims to philosophic ability and high intellectual training, but

is it not remarkable that it is in connection with this very phase

of the doctrine of God that the Apostle Paul says "they became

fools"? (Rom. 1.) God is everywhere and in every place; His center

is everywhere; His circumference nowhere. But this presence is a

spiritual and not a material presence; yet it is a real presence.

(1) Scriptural statement of the fact.

Jer. 23:23, 24-"Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God

afar off? 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." Did the false prophets think that they could hide their

secret crimes from God? Or that He could not pursue them into

foreign countries? Or that He knew what was transpiring in heaven

only and not upon the earth, and even in its most distant corners?

It was false for them to thus delude themselves--their sins would

be detected and punished (Psa. 10:1-14).

Psa. 139:7-12--"Whither shall I go from thy Spirit, or whither shall

I flee from thy presence," etc. How wondrously the attributes of

God are grouped in this psalm. In vv. 1-6 the psalmist speaks of

the omniscience of God: God knows him through and through. In vv.

13-19 it is the omnipotence of God which overwhelms the psalmist.

The omnipresence of God is set forth in vv. 7-12. The psalmist

realizes that he is never out of the sight of God any more than

he is outside of the range of His knowledge and power. God is in

heaven; "Hell is naked before Him"; souls in the intermediate state

are fully known to Him (cf. Job 26:2; Jonah 2:2); the darkness is

as the light to Him. Job 22:12-14--"Is not God in the height of

heaven? . . . . Can he judge through the dark cloud? Thick clouds

are a covering to him that he seeth not," etc. All agreed that God

displayed His presence in the heaven, but Job had inferred from this

that God could not know and did not take notice of such actions of

men as were hidden behind the intervening clouds. Not that Job

was atheistic; no, but probably denied to God the attribute of

omnipresence and omniscience. Acts 17:24-28--"For in him we live,

and move, and have our being." Without His upholding hand we must

perish; God is our nearest environment. From these and many other

scriptures we are clearly taught that God is everywhere present

and acting; there is no place where God is not.

This does not mean that God is everywhere present in the same sense.

For we are told that He is in heaven, His dwelling-place (1 Kings

8:30); that Christ is at His right hand in heaven (Eph. 1:20);

that God's throne is in heaven (Rev. 21:2; Isa. 66:1).

We may summarize the doctrine of the Trinity thus: God the Father

is specially manifested in heaven; God the Son has been specially

manifested on the earth; God the Spirit is manifested everywhere.

Just as the soul is present in every part of the body so God is

present in every part of the world.

(2) Some practical inferences from this doctrine.

First, _of Comfort:_ The nearness of God to the believer.

"Speak to Him then for He listens. And spirit with spirit can meet;

Closer is He than breathing, And nearer than hands or feet."

"God is never so far off, As even to be near; He is within. Our

spirit is the home He holds most dear. To think of Him as by our

side is almost as untrue, As to remove His shrine beyond those

skies of starry blue."--_Faber._ The omnipresence is not only

a detective truth--it is protective also. After dwelling on this

great and awful attribute in Psalm 139, the psalmist, in vv. 17,

18, exclaims: "How precious are thy thoughts to me..... When I

awake I am still with thee." By this is meant that God stands by

our side to help, and as One who loves and understands us (Matt.

28:20).

Second, _of Warning:_ "As in the Roman empire the whole world

was one great prison to a malefactor, and in his flight to the most

distant lands the emperor could track him, so under the government

of God no sinner can escape the eye of the judge."

Thus the omnipresence of God is detective as well as protective. "Thou God

seest me," should serve as warning to keep us from sin.

d) The Eternity and Immutability of God.

The word _eternal_ is used in two senses in the Bible:

figuratively,

as denoting existence which may have a beginning,

but will have no end, e. g., angels, the human soul;

literally,

denoting an existence which has neither beginning nor ending,

like that of God.

Time has past, present, future; eternity has

not. Eternity is infinite duration without any beginning, end, or

limit--an ever abiding present. We can conceive of it only as duration

indefinitely extended from the present moment in two directions--as

to the past and as to the future. "One of the deaf and dumb pupils

in the institution of Paris, being desired to express his idea

of the eternity of the Deity, replied: 'It is duration, without

beginning or end; existence, without bounds or dimension; present,

without past or future. His eternity is youth, without infancy or

old age; life, without birth or death; today, without yesterday or

tomorrow.'"

By the Immutability of God is meant that God's nature is absolutely

unchangeable. It is not possible that He should possess one attribute

at one time that He does not possess at another. Nor can there be

any change in the Deity for better or for worse. God remains forever

the same. He is without beginning and without end; the self-existent

"I am"; He remains forever the same, and unchangeable.

(1) Scriptural statement of the fact:

The Eternity of God

Hab. 1:12--"Art thou not from everlasting, O Lord my God, mine Holy

One?" Chaldea had threatened to annihilate Israel. The prophet

cannot believe it possible, for has not God _eternal_ purposes

for Israel? Is He not holy? How, then, can evil triumph? Psa.

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." Short and transitory is the life of man; with God

it is otherwise. The perishable nature of man is here compared with

the imperishable nature of God. Psa. 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 thou hast laid the foundations 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." With

the perishable nature of the whole material creation the psalmist

contrasts the imperishable nature of God. Exod. 3:14--"And God

said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM." The past, present and future lies

in these words for the name of Jehovah. Rev. 1:8--"I am Alpha and

Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and

which was, and which is to come, the Almighty."

(2) Scriptural statement of the Immutability of God:

Mal 3:6--"1 am the Lord, I change not." Man's hope lies in that

fact, as the context here shows Man had changed in his life and

purpose toward God, and if God, like man, had changed, man would

have been destroyed. James 1:17--"The Father of lights, with whom is

no variableness, neither shadow of turning." There is no change--in

the sense of the degree or intensity of light such as is manifested

in the heavenly bodies. Such lights are constantly varying

and changing; not so with God. There is no inherent, indwelling,

possible change in God. 1 Sam. 15:29.--"And also the Strength of

Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should

repent." From these scriptures we assert that God, in His nature

and character, is absolutely without change.

Does God Repent?

What, then, shall we say with regard to such scriptures as Jonah

3:10 and Gen. 6:6--"And God repented of the evil, that he said he

would do unto them." "And it repented the Lord that he had made

man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart." In reply we may

say that God does not change, but threatens that men may change.

"The repentent attitude in God does not involve any real change in

the character and purposes of God. He ever hates the sin and ever

pities and loves the sinner; that is so both before and after

the sinner's repentance. Divine repentance is therefore the same

principle acting differently in altered circumstances. If the

prospect of punishment answers the same purpose as that intended

by the punishment itself, then there is no inconsistency in

its remission, for punishment is not an end, it is only a means

to goodness, to the reign of the law of righteousness." When God

appears to be displeased with anything, or orders it differently

from what we expected, we say, after the manner of men, that

He repents. God's attitude towards the Ninevites had not changed,

but they had changed; and because they had changed from sin unto

righteousness, God's attitude towards them and His intended dealings

with them as sinners must of necessity change, while, of course,

God's character had in no wise changed with respect to these

people, although His dealings with them had. So that we may say

that God's _character_ never changes, but His _dealings_

with men change as they change from ungodliness to godliness and

from disobedience unto obedience. "God's immutability is not that

of the stone, that has no internal experience, but rather that of

the column of mercury that rises and falls with every change in

the temperature of the surrounding atmosphere. When a man bicycling

against the wind turns about and goes with the wind instead of going

against it, the wind seems to change, although it is blowing just

as it was before." --_Strong_.

2. THE MORAL ATTRIBUTES.

a) The Holiness of God.

If there is any difference in importance in the attributes of God,

that of His Holiness seems to occupy the first place. It is, to

say the least, the one attribute which God would have His people

remember Him by more than any other. In the visions of Himself

which God granted men in the Scriptures the thing that stood out

most prominent was the divine holiness. This is clearly seen by

referring to the visions of Moses, Job, and Isaiah. Some thirty

times does the Prophet Isaiah speak of Jehovah as "the Holy One,"

thus indicating what feature of those beatific visions had most

impressed him.

The holiness of God is the message of the entire Old Testament.

To the prophets God was the absolutely Holy One; the One with eyes

too pure to behold evil; the One swift to punish iniquity. In taking

a photograph, the part of the body which we desire most to see is

not the hands or feet, but the face. So is it with our vision of

God. He desires us to see not His hand and finger, denoting His

power and skill, nor even His throne as indicating His majesty.

It is His holiness by which He desires to be remembered as that is

the attribute which most glorifies Him. Let us bear this fact in

mind as we study this attribute of the divine nature. It is just

this vision of God that we need today when the tendency to deny

the reality or the awfulness of sin is so prevalent. Our view of

the necessity of the atonement will depend very largely upon our

view of the holiness of God. Light views of God and His holiness

will produce light views of sin and the atonement.

(1) Scriptural statements setting forth the fact of God's Holiness.

Isa. 57:15--"Thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth

eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place."

Psa. 99:9--"Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at his holy hill:

for the Lord our God is holy." Hab. 1:13--"Thou art of purer eyes

than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity." 1 Pet. 1:15,

16 --"But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in

all manner of conversation. Because it is written, Be ye holy: for

I am holy." God's personal name is holy. John 17:11--"Holy Father,

keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me." Christ

here contemplates the Father as the Holy One, as the source and

agent of that which He desires for His disciples, namely, holiness

of heart and life, being kept from the evil of this world.

Is it not remarkable that this attribute of holiness is ascribed

to each of the three persons of the Trinity: God the Father, is

the Holy One of Israel (Isa. 41:14); God the Son is the Holy One

(Acts 3:14); God the Spirit is called the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30).

(2) The Scriptural meaning of Holiness as applied to God.

Job 34:10--"Be it far from God, that he should do wickedness; and

from the Almighty that he should commit iniquity." An evil God,

one that could commit evil would be a contradiction in terms,

an impossible, inconceivable idea. Job seemed to doubt that the

principle on which the universe was conducted was one of absolute

equity. He must know that God is free from all evil-doing. However

hidden the meaning of His dealings, He is always just. God never

did, never will do wrong to any of His creatures; He will never

punish wrongly. Men may, yea, often do; God never does. Lev.

11:43-45--"Ye shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping

thing that creepeth, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with

them, that ye should be defiled thereby. For I am the Lord your

God; ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy;

for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner

of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.... Ye shall therefore

be holy, for I am holy." This means that God is absolutely clean

and pure and free from all defilement.

The construction of the Tabernacle, with its holy and most holy

place into which the high priest alone entered once a year; the Ten

Commandments, with their moral categories; the laws of clean and

unclean animals and things--all these speak to us in unmistakable

terms as to what is meant by holiness as applied to God.

Two things, by way of definition, may be inferred from these

Scriptures: first, negatively, that God is entirely apart from

all that is evil and from all that defiles both in Himself and in

relation to all His creatures; second and positively, by the holiness

of God is meant the consummate holiness, perfection, purity, and

absolute sanctity of His nature. There is absolutely nothing unholy

in Him. So the Apostle John declares: "God is light, and in him

is no darkness at all."

(3) The manifestation of God's Holiness.

Prov. 15:9, 26--"The way of the wicked is an abomination unto the

Lord. The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination unto the Lord."

God hates sin, and is its uncompromising foe. Sin is a vile and

detestable thing to God. Isa. 59:1, 2--"Behold, the Lord's hand

is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that

it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated between you and

your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will

not hear." Israel's sin had raised a partition wall. The infinite

distance between the sinner and God is because of sin. The sinner

and God are at opposite poles of the moral universe. This in answer

to Israel's charge of God's inability. From these two scriptures

it is clear that God's holiness manifests itself in the hatred of

sin and the separation of the sinner from himself.

Herein lies the need of the atonement, whereby this awful distance

is bridged over. This is the lesson taught by the construction of

the Tabernacle as to the division into the holy place and the most

holy place.

Prov. 15:9--"But he loveth him that followeth after righteousness."

John 3:16--"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only

begotten Son," etc. Here God's holiness is seen in that He loves

righteousness in the life of His children to such a degree that He

gave His only begotten Son to secure it. The Cross shows how much

God loves holiness. The Cross stands for God's holiness before even

His love. For Christ died not merely for our sins, but in order

that He might provide us with that righteousness of life which

God loves. "He died that we might be forgiven; he died to make us

good." Do we love holiness to the extent of sacrificing for it?

For other manifestations see under Righteousness and Justice of

God.

(4) Practical deductions from the doctrine of God's Holiness.

First, we should approach God with "reverence and godly fear"

(Heb. 12:28). In the story of Moses' approach to the burning bush,

the smiting of the men at Bethshemesh, the boundary set about Mt.

Sinai, we are taught to feel our own unworthiness. There is too

much hilarity in our approach unto God. Eccl. 5:1-3 inculcates

great care in our address to God.

Second, we shall have right views of sin when we get right views

of God's holiness.

Isaiah, the holiest man in all Israel, was cast

down at the sight of his own sin after he had seen the vision of

God's holiness. The same thing is true of Job (40:3-4; 42:4-5).

We confess sin in such easy and familiar terms that it has almost

lost its terror for us.

Third, that approach to a holy God must be through the merits

of Christ, and on the ground of a righteousness which is Christ's

and which naturally we do not possess.

Herein lies the need of the atonement.

b) The Righteousness and Justice of God.

In a certain sense these attributes are but the manifestation of

God's holiness. It is holiness as manifested in dealing with the

sons of men. Holiness has to do more particularly with the character

of God in itself, while in Righteousness and Justice that character

is expressed in the dealings of God with men. Three things may be

said in the consideration of the Righteousness and Justice of God:

first, there is the imposing of righteousness laws and demands,

which may he called legislative holiness, and may he known as the

Righteousness of God; second, there is the executing of the penalties

attached to those laws, which may be called judicial holiness; third,

there is the sense in which the attributes of the Righteousness

and Justice of God may be regarded as the actual carrying out of

the holy nature of God in the government of the world. So that in

the Righteousness of God we have His love of holiness, and in the

Justice of God, His hatred of sin.

Again Righteousness, as here used, has reference to the very nature

of God as He is in Himself--that attribute which leads God always

to do right. Justice, as an attribute of God, is devoid of all

passion or caprice; it is vindicative not vindictive. And so the

Righteousness and Justice of the God of Israel was made to stand

out prominently as contrasted with the caprice of the heathen gods.

(1) Scriptural statement of the fact.

Psalm 116:5--"Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; yea, our God is

merciful." The context here shows that it is because of this fact

that God listens to men, and because having promised to hear He is

bound to keep His promises. Ezra 9:15--"0 Lord God of Israel, thou

art righteous." Here the Righteousness of Jehovah is acknowledged

in the punishment of Israel's sins. Thou art just, and thou hast

brought us into the state in which we are today. Psa. 145:17--"The

Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works." This

is evident in the rewards He gives to the upright, in lifting up

the lowly, and in abundantly blessing the good, pure, and true.

Jer. 12:1--"Righteous art thou, O Lord, when I plead with thee."

That is to say, "If I were to bring a charge against Thee I should

not be able to convict Thee of injustice, even though I be painfully

exercised over the mysteries of Thy providence."

These scriptures clearly set forth not only the fact that God is

righteous and just, but also define these attributes. Here we are

told that God, in His government of the world, does always that

which is suitable, straight, and right.

(2) How the Righteousness and Justice of God is revealed.

In two ways:

first, in punishing the wicked: retributive justice,

second, in rewarding the righteous: remunerative justice.

_aa) In the punishment of the wicked._

Psa. 11:4-7--"The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord's throne is

in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.

The Lord trieth the righteous; but the wicked and him that loveth

violence his soul hateth. Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire

and brimstone and an horrible tempest. This shall be the portion

of their cup." This is David's reply to his timid advisers. Saul

may reign upon the earth and do wickedly, but God reigns from heaven

and will do right. He sees who does right and who does wrong. And

there is that in His nature which recoils from the evil that He

sees, and will lead Him ultimately to punish it. There is such a

thing as the wrath of God. It is here described. Whatever awful

thing the description in this verse may mean for the wicked, God

grant that we may never know. In Exod. 9:23-27 we have the account

of the plague of hail, following which are these words: "And Pharaoh

sent...for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned

this time: the Lord is righteous, and I and my people are wicked."

Pharaoh here acknowledges the perfect justice of God in punishing

him for his sin and rebellion. He knew that he had deserved it

all, even though cavillers today say there was injustice with God

in His treatment of Pharaoh. Pharaoh himself certainly did not

think so. Dan. 9:12-14 and Rev. 16:5, 6 bring out the same thought.

How careful sinners ought to be not to fall into the hands of the

righteous Judge! No sinner at last will be able to say, "I did not

deserve this punishment."

_bb) In forgiving the sins of the penitent._

1 John 1:9 (R. V.)--"If we confess our sins, he is faithful

and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all

unrighteousness." Ordinarily, the forgiveness of sin is associated

with the mercy, love, and compassion of God, and not with His

righteousness and justice. This verse assures us that if we confess

our sins, the righteousness and justice of God is our guarantee for

forgiveness--God cannot but forgive and cleanse us from all sin.

_cc) In keeping His word and promise to His children._

Neh. 9:7, 8--"Thou art the Lord the God, who didst choose Abram...and

madest a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites...to

his seed, and hast performed thy words; for thou art righteous."

We need to recall the tremendous obstacles which stood in the way

of the fulfillment of this promise, and yet we should remember the

eleventh chapter of Hebrews. When God gives His word, and makes

a promise, naught in heaven, on earth, or in hell can make that

promise void. His righteousness is the guarantee of its fulfillment.

_dd) In showing Himself to be the vindicator of His people from

all their enemies._

Psa. 129:1-4--"Many a time have they afflicted me...yet they have

not prevailed against me. The Lord is righteous: he hath cut asunder

the cords of the wicked." Sooner or later, God's people will triumph

gloriously as David triumphed over Saul. Even in this life God

will give us rest from our enemies; and there shall assuredly come

a day when we shall be "where the wicked cease from troubling, and

the weary are at rest."

_ee) In the rewarding of the righteous._

Heb. 6:10--"For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor

of love, which ye have showed towards his name, in that ye have

ministered unto the saints, and do minister." Those who had shown

their faith by their works would not now be allowed to lose that

faith. The very idea of divine justice implies that the use of this

grace, thus evidenced, will be rewarded, not only by continuance

in grace, but their final perseverance and reward. 2 Tim.

4:8--"Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness,

which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me at that day:

and not to me only, but unto all them that love hiss appearing."

The righteous Judge will not allow the faithful believer to go

unrewarded. He is not like the unrighteous judges of Rome and the

Athenian games. Here we are not always rewarded, but some time we

shall receive full reward for all the good that we have done. The

righteousness of God is the guarantee of all this.

c) The Mercy and Loving-kindness of God.

By these attributes is meant, in general, the kindness, goodness,

and compassion of God, the love of God in its relation to both

the obedient and the disobedient sons of men. The dew drops on the

thistle as well as on the rose.

More specifically: Mercy is usually exercised in connection with

guilt; it is that attribute of God which leads Him to seek the

welfare, both temporal and spiritual, of sinners, even though at

the cost of great sacrifice on His part. "But God, who is rich in

mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us...God commendeth

his love towards us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ

died for us." (Eph. 2:4; Rom. 5:8.)

Loving-kindness is that attribute of God which leads Him to bestow

upon His obedient children His constant and choice blessing. "He

that spared not his own Son, but freely delivered him up for us

all, how shall he not with him freely give us all things?" (Rom 8:32.)

(I) Scriptural statement of the fact.

Psa. 103:8--"The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger,

and plenteous in mercy." For, instead of inflicting pain, poverty,

death--which are the wages of sin--God has spared our lives, given

us health, increased our blessings and comforts, and given us the

life of the ages. Deut. 4:31--"(For the Lord thy God is a merciful

God); he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget

the covenant of thy fathers." God is ready to accept the penitence

of Israel, even now, if only it be sincere. Israel will return and

find God only because He is merciful and does not let go of her.

It is His mercy that forbids his permanently forsaking His people.

Psa. 86:15--"But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and

gracious, long-suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth." It

was because God had so declared Himself to be of this nature that

David felt justified in feeling that God would not utterly forsake

him in his time of great stress and need. The most striking

illustration of the Mercy and Loving-kindness of God is set forth

in the parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32). Here we have

not only the welcome awaiting the wanderer, but also the longing

for his return on the part of the anxious and loving father.

(1) How the Mercy and Loving-kindness of God are manifested.

In general:

We must not forget that God is absolutely sovereign in

the bestowal of His blessings--

"Therefore hath he mercy on whom he

will have mercy" (Rom. 9:18).

We should also remember that God wills to have mercy on all His creatures--

"For thou, Lord, art good,and ready to forgive, and plenteous in mercy to all them that call

upon thee" (Psa. 86:5).

_aa) Mercy--towards sinners in particular._

Luke 6:36--"Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is

merciful." Matt. 5:45--"That ye may be the children, of your Father

which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and

the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust." Here even

the impenitent and hard-hearted are the recipients of God's mercy;

all sinners, even the impenitent are included in the sweep of His

mercy.

Isa. 55:7--"Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man

his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord: and he will have

mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon."

God's mercy is a holy mercy; it will by no means protect sin, but

anxiously awaits to pardon it. God's mercy is a city of refuge for

the penitent, but by no means a sanctuary for the presumptuous. See

Prov. 28:13, and Psa. 51:1. God's mercy is here seen in pardoning

the sin of those who do truly repent. We speak about "trusting in

the mercy of the Lord." Let us forsake sin and then trust in the

mercy of the Lord and we shall find pardon.

2 Pet. 3:9--"The Lord...is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing

that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."

Neh. 9:31--"Nevertheless for thy great mercies' sake thou didst not

utterly consume them; for thou art a gracious and merciful God."

Here is mercy manifested in forbearance with sinners. If God should

have dealt with them in justice they would have been cut off long

before. Think of the evil, the impurity, the sin that God must see.

How it must disgust Him. Then remember that He could crush it all

in a moment. Yet He does not. He pleads; He sacrifices to show His

love for sinners. Surely it is because of the Lord's mercies that

we are not consumed, and because His compassions fail not. Yet,

beware lest we abuse this goodness, for our God is also a consuming

fire. "Behold, the goodness and the severity of God." The Mercy

of God is here shown in His loving forbearance with sinners.

_bb) Loving-kindness towards the saints, in particular._

Psa. 32:10--"But he that trusteth in the Lord, mercy shall compass

him about." The very act of trust on the part of the believer moves

the heart of God to protect him just as in the case of a parent

and his child. The moment I throw myself on God I am enveloped in

His mercy--mercy is my environment, like a fiery wall it surrounds

me, without a break through which an evil can creep. Resistance

surrounds us with "sorrow"; but trust surrounds us with "mercy."

In the center of that circle of mercy sits and rests the trusting

soul.

Phil. 2:27--"For indeed he was sick nigh unto death; but God had

mercy on him; and not on him only, but on me also, lest I should

have sorrow upon sorrow." Here God's loving-kindness is seen in

healing up His sick children. Yet remember that "He hath mercy on

whom He will have mercy." Not every sick child of God is raised.

Psa. 6:4--"Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am weak: O Lord, heal

me...Deliver my soul for thy mercies' sake (v. 4)." The psalmist

asks God to illustrate His mercy in restoring to him his spiritual

health. From these scriptures we see that the mercy of God is

revealed in healing His children of bodily and spiritual sickness.

Psa. 21:7--"For the king trusteth in the Lord, and through the

mercy of the most High he shall not be moved." David feels that,

because he trusts in the mercy of the Lord, his throne, whatever

may dash against it, is perfectly secure. Is not this true also

of the believer's eternal security? More to the mercy of God than

to the perseverance of the saints is to be attributed the eternal

security of the believer. "He will hold me fast."

d) The Love of God.

Christianity is really the only religion that sets forth the Supreme

Being as Love.

The gods of the heathen are angry, hateful beings,

and are in constant need of appeasing.

(1) Scriptural statements of the fact.

1 John 4:8-16--"God is love." "God is light"; "God is Spirit";

"God is love." Spirit and Light are expressions of God's essential

nature. Love is the expression of his personality corresponding to

His nature. It is the nature of God to love. He dwells always in

the atmosphere of love. Just how to define or describe the love

of God may be difficult if not impossible. It appears from certain

scriptures (1 John 3:16; John 3:16) that the love of God is of such

a nature that it betokens a constant interest in the physical and

spiritual welfare of His creatures as to lead Him to make sacrifices

beyond human conception to reveal that love.

(2) The objects of God's Love.

_aa) Jesus Christ, God's only-begotten Son, is the special object

of His Love._

Matt. 3:17--"This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

Also Matt. 17:5; Luke 20:13. Jesus Christ shares the love of the

Father in a unique sense, just as He is His Son in a unique sense.

He is especially "My chosen." "The One in whom my soul delighteth,"

"My beloved Son,"--literally: the Son of mine, the beloved. And we

can readily understand how that He who did the will of God perfectly

should thus become the special object of the Father's love. Of

course, if the love of God is eternal, as is the nature of God,

which must be the case, then, that love must have had an eternal

object to love. So Christ, in addressing the Father, says: "Thou

lovedst me before the foundation of the world."

_bb) Believers in His Son, Jesus Christ, are special objects of

God's Love._

John 16:27--"For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have

loved me, and have believed that I came out from God." 14:21-23--"He

that loveth me shall be loved of my Father. ...If a man love me...my

Father will love him." 17:23--"And hast loved them, as thou hast

loved me." Do we really believe these words? We are not on the

outskirts of God's love, but in its very midst. There stands Christ

right in the very midst of that circle of the Father's love; then

He draws us to that spot, and, as it were, disappears, leaving us

standing there bathed in the same loving-kindness of the Father in

which He Himself had basked.

_cc) God loves the world of sinners and ungodly men._

John 3:16--"For God so loved the world" was a startling truth to

Nicodemus in his narrow exclusivism. God loved not the Jew only,

but also the Gentile; not a part of the world of men, but every

man in it, irrespective of his moral character. For "God commendeth

his love towards us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ

died for us" (Rom. 5:8). This is wonderful when we begin to realize

what a world in sin is. The love of God is broader than the measure

of man's mind. God desires the salvation of all men (1 Tim. 2:4).

(3) How the Love of God reveals Itself.

_aa) In making infinite sacrifice for the salvation of men._

1 John 4:9, 10--"In this was manifested the love of God towards us,

because that God sent his only-begotten Son into the world, that

we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God,

but that God loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for

our sins." Love is more than compassion; it hides not itself as

compassion may do, but displays itself actively in behalf of its

object. The Cross of Calvary is the highest expression of the love

of God for sinful man. He gave not only a Son, but His only Son,

His well-beloved.

_bb) In bestowing full and complete pardon on the penitent._

Isa. 38:17--"Thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit

of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back."

Literally, "Thou hast loved my soul back from the pit of destruction."

God had taken the bitterness out of his life and given him the

gracious forgiveness of his sins, by putting them far away from

Him. Eph. 2:4, 5--"But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great

love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath

quickened us together with Christ," etc. Verses 1-3 of this chapter

show the race rushing headlong to inevitable ruin. "But" reverses

the picture; when all help for man fails, then God steps in, and

by His mercy, which springs from "His great love," redeems fallen

man, and gives him not only pardon, but a position in His heavenly

kingdom by the side of Jesus Christ. All this was "for," or, perhaps

better, "in order to satisfy His great love." Love led Him to do

it.

_cc) In remembering His children in all the varying circumstances

of life._

Isa. 63:9--"In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel

of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed

them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old." Here

is retrospection on the part of the prophet. He thinks of all the

oppressions of Israel, and recalls how God's interests have been

bound up with theirs. He was not their adversary; He was their

sympathetic, loving friend. He suffered with them. Isa. 49:15, 16

--"Can a woman forget her sucking child? Yea, they may forget,

yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee on the palms

of my hands; thy walls are continually before me." It was the custom

those days to trace upon the palms of the hands the outlines of any

object of affection; hence a man engraved the name of his god. So

God could not act without being reminded of Israel. God is always

mindful of His own. Saul of Tarsus learned this truth on the way

to Damascus.