Discourses upon the Existence and Attributes of God

5. Though he be necessarily Good, yet he is also freely Good. The necessity of the Goodness of his Nature hinders not the liberty of his Actions: The matter of his acting is not at all necessary, but the manner of his acting in a good and bountiful way, is necessary, as well as free^*. He Created the World and Man freely, because he might choose whether he would Create it, but he Created them good necessarily, because he was first necessarily good in his Nature, before he was freely a Creator. When he Created Man, he freely gave him a positive Law, but necessarily a Wise and Righteous Law; because he was necessarily Wise, and Righteous, before he was freely a Lawgiver. When he makes a Promise, he freely lets the Word go out of his Lips, but when he hath made it, he is necessarily a faithful Performer; because he was necessarily True and Righteous in his Nature, before he was freely a Promiser. God is necessarily good in his Nature, but free in his Communications of it: To make him necessarily to communicate his Goodness in the first Creation of the Creature, would render him but impotent, good without liberty, and without will: If the Communications of it be not free, the Eternity of the World must necessarily be concluded, which some Anciently asserted from the Naturalness of Gods Goodness, making the World flow from God as Light from the Sun.

5. Though he be necessarily Good, yet he is also freely Good. The necessity of the Goodness of his Nature hinders not the liberty of his Actions: The matter of his acting is not at all necessary, but the manner of his acting in a good and bountiful way, is necessary, as well as free^*. He Created the World and Man freely, because he might choose whether he would Create it, but he Created them good necessarily, because he was first necessarily good in his Nature, before he was freely a Creator. When he Created Man, he freely gave him a positive Law, but necessarily a Wise and Righteous Law; because he was necessarily Wise, and Righteous, before he was freely a Lawgiver. When he makes a Promise, he freely lets the Word go out of his Lips, but when he hath made it, he is necessarily a faithful Performer; because he was necessarily True and Righteous in his Nature, before he was freely a Promiser. God is necessarily good in his Nature, but free in his Communications of it: To make him necessarily to communicate his Goodness in the first Creation of the Creature, would render him but impotent, good without liberty, and without will: If the Communications of it be not free, the Eternity of the VVorld must necessarily be concluded, which some Anciently asserted from the Naturalness of Gods Goodness, making the VVorld flow from God as Light from the Sun.