The Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale University

FROM what has been said, 'tis evident that true virtue must chiefly consist in love to God; the Being of beings,First ed., word capitalized. infinitely the greatest and best of beings.First ed., word capitalized. The internal argument of this chapter requires us to treat "Being itself, simply considered" and "Being in general" (and variants) as direct, respectful, or devout references to God, not as a metaphysical property or generality. See p. 421 above, n. 5; Intro, above, pp. 116–19, Ch. VIII, p. 621 below, n. 8. This appears, whether we consider the primary or secondary ground of virtuous love. It was observed that the first objective ground of that love, wherein true virtue consists, is Being, simply considered: and as a necessary consequence of this, that beingFirst ed., word capitalized. who has the most of being,First ed., word capitalized. or the greatest share of universal existence, has proportionably the greatest share of virtuous benevolence, so far as such a beingFirst ed., word capitalized. is exhibited to the faculties of our minds, other things being equal. But God has infinitely the greatest share of existence, or is infinitely the greatest being.First ed., word capitalized. This reference treats God comparatively as a being among beings, even though "highest." So that all other being,First ed., word capitalized. even that of all created things whatsoever, throughout the whole universe, is as nothing in comparison of the Divine Being.

And if we consider the secondary ground of love, viz. beauty or moral excellency, the same thing will appear. For as God is infinitely the greatest being,First ed., word capitalized. so he is allowed to be infinitely the most beautiful and excellent: and all the beauty to be found throughout the whole creation, is but the reflection of the diffused beams of that BeingHere in the text JE begins to mass his images around the word being, and to replace the usage of that word in Ch. I with the word God. who hath an infinite