Absolute Predestination, by Jerome Zanchius

26 omnipotence of God. THE JUSTICE OF GOD. V.—I shall now take notice of HIS JUSTICE. POSITION 1.—God is infinitely, absolutely and unchangeably just.

The justice of God may be considered either immanently, as it is in Himself, which is, properly speaking, the same with His holiness; or transiently and relatively, as it respects His right conduct towards His creatures, which is properly justice. By the former He is all that is holy, just and good; by the latter, He is manifested to be so in all His dealings with angels and men. For the first, see Deut. 32.4; Psalm 92.15; for the second, Job 8.3; Psalm 145.17. Hence it follows that whatever God either wills or does, however it may, at first sight, seem to clash with our ideas of right and wrong, cannot really be unjust. It is certain that for a season He sorely afflicted His righteous servant Job, and, on the other hand, enriched the Sabeans, an infidel and lawless nation, with a profusion of wealth and a series of success; before Jacob and Esau were born, or had done either good or evil, He loved and chose the former and reprobated the latter; He gave repentance to Peter and left Judas to perish in his sin; and as in all ages, so to this day, “He hath mercy on whom He will, and whom He will He hardeneth.” In all which He acts most justly and righteously, and there is no iniquity with Him. POSITION 2.—The Deity may be considered in a threefold view: as God of all, as Lord of all, and as Judge of all.

(1) As God of all, He created, sustains and exhilarates the whole universe; causes His sun to shine, and His rain to fall upon the evil and the good (Matt. 5.), and is swthr pantwn anqrwpwn, the Preserver of all men (1 Tim. 4.10). For as He is infinitely and supremely good, so also is He communicative of His goodness, as appears not only from His creation of all things, but especially from His providential benignity. Everything has its being from Him as Creator, and its well-being from Him as a bountiful Preserver.

(2) As Lord or Sovereign of all, He does as He will (and has a most unquestionable right to do so) with His own, and in particular fixes and