10: THE THIRD SIGN OF ATHENTIC AFFECTION

Those affections that are truly holy, are primarily founded
on the loveliness of the moral excellency of divine things.
Or (to express it otherwise), a love for divine things for the
beauty and sweetness of their moral excellency is the first
beginning and spring of all holy affections.

IN USING THE WORDmoral to define the excellency of divine things we are not speaking of adherence to some objective standard of behavior. Rather, by the moral perfections of God we mean “those attributes which God exercises as a moral agent, or whereby the heart and will of God are good, right, and infinitely becoming, and lovely, such as his righteousness, truth, faithfulness, and goodness; or, in one word, his holiness.” By God’s natural attributes or perfections we mean “those attributes, wherein, according to our way of conceiving of God, consists, not the holiness or moral goodness of God, but his greatness, such as his power, his knowledge whereby he knows all things, and his being eternal, from everlasting to everlasting, his omnipresence, and his awful and terrible majesty.”

As noted, we can reduce our description of the moral excellency of God to his holiness. Holiness is that word in Scripture which encompasses God’s “purity and beauty as a moral agent, comprehending all his moral perfections, his righteousness, faithfulness and goodness.”

In our discussion of the second sign of authentic affections, we noted that the first ground of all holy affections is the supreme excellency of divine things as they are in themselves. We now can say that the “kind of excellency of the nature of divine things, which is the first objective ground of all holy affections, is their moral excellency or their holiness.”

Therefore, the love that true saints have for God is for the beauty of his holiness or his moral perfection as being supremely lovely in itself. Certainly we love God for all his attributes. They are each amiable and lovely in themselves. Contemplating each and every one of the divine perfections is exceedingly and indescribably pleasant. But when it comes to the regenerate, “their love to God for his holiness is what is most fundamental and essential in their love. . . . A love to God for the beauty of his moral attributes, leads to and necessarily causes a delight in God for all his attributes.”

If a being were merely strong but not holy, there would be no loveliness in it. If a being were merely knowledgeable but not holy, there would be little of intrinsic worth to call forth our praise. God’s wisdom is glorious because it is holy. God’s immutability is glorious because it is a holy immutability and not “an inflexible obstinacy in wickedness.” Thus a true love for God must begin with “a delight in his holiness, and not with a delight in any other attribute, for no other attribute is truly lovely without this.”

The same is true of all divine things. The people of God are beautiful because they are, by grace, holy ones (i.e., saints). Angels are beautiful because they are holy, rather than being evil (like the demons). The Christian religion surpasses all others because it is holy. The excellency of the Scriptures is found in their holiness.

“Herein does primarily consist the amiableness and beauty of the Lord Jesus, whereby he is the chief among ten thousands and altogether lovely.” Indeed, “all the spiritual beauty of his human nature, consisting in his meekness, lowliness, patience, heavenliness, love to God, love to men, condescension to the mean and vile, and compassion to the miserable, etc., is all summed up in his holiness. And the beauty of his divine nature, of which the beauty of his human nature is the image and reflection, does also primarily consist in his holiness.” The gospel is glorious because it is a holy gospel. And “herein chiefly consists the glory of heaven, that it is the holy city, the holy Jerusalem, the habitation of God’s holiness, and so of his glory (Isa. 63:15).”

In our discussion of the first sign of genuine affections we noted that God grants to the regenerate a new supernatural sense that is unattainable by use of any of the normal five senses of the body. We can now proceed to say that it is the beauty of holiness which is “that thing in spiritual and divine things, which is perceived by this spiritual sense, that is so diverse from all that natural men perceive in them. This kind of beauty is the quality that is the immediate object of this spiritual sense. This is the sweetness that is the proper object of this spiritual taste.”

In Psalm 119 the law of God is described as the “grand expression and emanation of the holiness of God’s nature.” It is repeatedly portrayed as “the food and entertainment, and as the great object of the love, the appetite, the complacence and rejoicing of the gracious nature, which prizes God’s commandments above gold, yea, the finest gold, and to which they are sweeter than the honey, and honeycomb; and that upon account of their holiness.”

In heaven, it is the holiness of God that primarily engages the worship and adoration of the angels and saints (see Isa. 6:3; Rev. 4:8; 15:4). So, too, the saints on earth do worship and praise God for his holiness above all else (see Ps. 98:1; 99:2–3, 5, 8–9; 97:11–12).

This is the way by which true saints may be distinguished from merely natural, unsaved, men. The unregenerate “have no sense of the goodness and excellency of holy things, at least for their holiness. They have no taste of that kind of good.” But the regenerate “by the mighty power of God, have it discovered [i.e., revealed] to them. They have that supernatural, most noble and divine sense given them, by which they perceive it, and it is this that captivates their hearts, and delights them above all things. ’Tis the most amiable and sweet thing to the heart of a true saint, that is to be found in heaven or earth, that which above all others attracts and engages his soul, and that wherein, above all things, he places his happiness, and which he lots [i.e., rests or relies] upon for solace and entertainment to his mind, in this world, and full satisfaction and blessedness in another.”

By this you may examine the state of your own soul and the quality of your love to God and Jesus and his Word, as well as your love for God’s people and your desire for heaven: do you love them all “from a supreme delight in this sort of beauty, without being primarily moved from your imagined interest in them, or expectations from ’em.”

A person can be greatly moved by the natural perfections of God and not be saved. A person can be stirred with admiration for God’s power and greatness “and yet be entirely blind to the beauty of his moral perfection, and have nothing of that spiritual taste which relishes this divine sweetness.” Even Satan and his demons know God in this way, yet they are utterly destitute of any sense or relish of that kind of divine beauty which consists in his moral perfections or holiness.

When God finally brings all into judgment, those who are cast into hell will see everything of God except the beauty of his holiness. They will see and know his power and wisdom and knowledge and strength and greatness and majesty and eternity and immutability and justice and righteousness, but they will find or sense or see or relish no beauty in them.

But the regenerate see the beauty and glory and relish the sweetness of all such divine perfections. Indeed, this is what “will melt and humble the hearts of men, and wean them from the world, and draw them to God, and effectually change them. A sight of the awful greatness of God may overpower men’s strength, and be more than they can endure. But if the moral beauty of God be hid, the enmity of the heart will remain in its full strength, no love will be enkindled, all will not be effectual to gain the will, but that will remain inflexible, whereas the first glimpse of the moral and spiritual glory of God shining into the heart, produces all these effects, as it were with omnipotent power, which nothing can withstand.”

It really matters little, therefore, if people speak of what they perceive as great revelations of divine power and greatness, but never taste or sense or relish the sweetness and loveliness and glory of God.