Discourses upon the Existence and Attributes of God

1. He is good by his own Essence. God is not only good in his Essence, but good by his Essence: The Essence of every created thing is good, so the unerring God pronounced every thing which he had made^*. The Essence of the worst Creatures, yea, of the impure and Savage Devils is good, but they are not good per essentiam, for then they could not be bad, Malicious, and Oppressive. God is good as he is God, and therefore good by himself, and from himself, not by participation from another; He made every thing good, but none made him good: Since his goodness was not received from another, he is good by his own Nature. He could not receive it from the things he Created, they are later than he: Since they received all from him, they could bestow nothing on him, and no God preceded him, in whose Inheritance and Treasures of Goodness, he could be a Successor: He is absolutely his own goodness, he needed none to make him good; but all things needed him, to be good by him. Creatures are good by being made so by him, and cleaving to him: He is good without cleaving to any goodness without him. Goodness is not a Quality in him, but a Nature,^* not a Habit added to his Essence, but his Essence it self; He is not first God, and then afterwards Good, but he is Good as he is God, his Essence being one and the same, is formally and equally God and Good. [Greek or Hebrew], good of himself, was one of the Names the Platonists gave him. He is Essentially Good in his own Nature, and not by any outward action which follows his Essence. He is an Independent Being, and hath nothing of goodness or happiness from any thing without him, or any thing he doth act about. If he were not good by his Essence, he could not be Eternally good, he could not be the first good, he would have something before him, from whence he derived that Goodness, wherewith he is possessed; Nor could he be perfectly good, for he could not be equally good to that, from whom he derived his Goodness: No Star, no splendid Body that derives light from the Sun, doth equal that Sun by which it's enlightened.

1. He is good by his own Essence. God is not only good in his Essence, but good by his Essence: The Essence of every created thing is good, so the unerring God pronounced every thing which he had made^*