Attributes of God - Charnock - XXXVII - Chapter 11 (God's holiness) continued

Required reading
Attributes of God by Charnock (Available from Amazon or free on the internet, here for example) - Continue Chapter 11 (A discourse upon the holiness of God) by reading up to the paragraph beginning, 'IV. The point was, that holiness is a glorious perfection of the nature of God.'

My summary
Now Charnock lays down some propositions in the defence of God's holiness in all his acts about or concerning sin.

The holiness of God is not blemished by his:
(i) creating man in a mutable state;
(ii) enjoining man a law, which he knew he would not observe;
(iii) decreeing the eternal rejection of some men;
(iv) secret will to suffer sin to enter into the world;
(v) concurrence with the creature in the material part of a sinful act;
(vi) proposing objects to a man which he makes use of to sin;
(vii) withdrawing his grace from a sinful creature, whereby he falls into more sin;
(viii) commanding those things sometimes which seem to be against nature, or thwart some other of his precepts.

What grabbed me
Good discussion of a very difficult subject.

I particularly liked this quote: 'His permission of sin is in order to his own glory and a greater good. It is no reflection upon the divine goodness to leave man to his own conduct, whereby such a deformity as sin sets foot in the world ; since he makes his wisdom illustrious in bringing good out of evil, and a good greater than that evil he suffered to spring up. God did not permit sin, as sin, or permit it barely for itself. As sin is not lovely in its own nature, so neither is the permission of sin intrinsecally [sic] good or amiable for itself, but for those ends aimed at in the permission of it. God permitted sin, but approved not of the object of that permission, sin; because that, considered in its own nature, is solely evil : nor can we think that God could approve of the act of permission, considered only in itself as an act, but as it respected that event which his wisdom would order by it. We cannot suppose that God should permit sin, but for some great and glorious end ; for it is the manifestation of his own glorious perfections he intends in all the acts of his will...'

Although we can't understand exactly why God permits sin, we can trust that it is for his glory.

Next week's reading
Continue Chapter 11 (A discourse upon the holiness of God) by reading up to the paragraph beginning 'Use 2. The second use is for comfort'  This attribute frowns upon lapsed nature, but smiles in the restorations made by the gospel.'

Now it's your turn
Please post your own notes and thoughts in the comments section below.