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nature, and that God did wrong in making it: And the riches and glory of gospel-grace are wholly obscured; for God cannot be considered as a sovereign benefactor, showing undeserved mercy to a guilty, hell-deserving world; but rather as repenting for the injury he has done to mankind, and as endeav oring to make amends for it by a better, a juster and kinder conduct for the time to come: And if this were the case, all his pretences, his high pretences to great love and goodness.... to great kindness and grace, are hypocritical, and a mere mocking of us. He had abused and injured us, and is now but repenting, and making restitution; and ought, therefore, to have said so, and not pretended he did all from mere grace, which is to affront us, and make as if that constitution was holy, just, and good, and we righteously condemned, and justly miserable forever: So that, let us view the case in what light we will, it is most evident and certain that the great Governor of the world considered mankind as being righteously condemned, and liable to everlasting destruction, consistent with the infinite goodness of his nature; nor did a thought of pity ever enter into his heart from the contrary supposition: Yea, it seems to have been his very design to maintain the honor of that constitution, while he shows mercy to a guilty world, inasmuch as he has appointed another public person, his own dear Son, to make atonement for our original apostacy, as well as our other sins, that hereby a way for his mercy might be opened....Rom. v.

18, 19.

2. Nor did God's designs of mercy towards a guilty, undone world take their rise from a supposition that the law of nature, which all mankind are naturally under, is too severe, in requiring perfect obedience, and threatening eternal damnation for the very least defect, (Rom. i. 18-Gal. iii. 10), or from any supposition that it would have been any thing like cruelty or unmercifulness, to have dealt with all mankind according to that rule.

To explain myself, I may just observe, that the original con. stitution with Adam, as public head, (Gen. ii. 17) was a positive appointment. After he was turned out of the garden, he cea

sed to sustain the character or capacity of a public person; nor are his posterity accountable for any but his first transgression. But the law of nature results from the nature of things....from God's being what he is in himself, and from our being what, we are, and he our Creator and we his creatures: And it was binding, in order of nature, antecedent to any positive constitution whatsoever nor is its binding nature capable of any dissolution. We might have obtained life, according to the constitution made with Adam, had he kept covenant with God; and been confirmed in a state of holiness and happiness: so now we may obtain life by Jesus Christ, who has fulfilled the law of nature, and made atonement for all sin: But the law of nature still remains an unalterable rule of righteousness between God and his creature, man. We owe perfect obedience to God, and the least sin deserves eternal damnation: And God might always have dealt with mankind simply according to this rule. The original constitution with Adam had some degree of GRACE in it. The constitution in the gospel is altogether GRACE. God might have held all mankind bound by the law of nature simply, nor ever have appointed any other way to happiness, than a perfect and persevering obedience; and mankind have been, to all eternity, in a peccable state, liable to sin and fall into ruin. Whatsoever advantages mankind have had over and above this, are, and have been, of mere grace. According to the law of nature, we are under infinite obligations to perfect holiness in the temper of our hearts, and to perfect obedience in the whole course of our lives, and that not only for a day, or a year, or a thousand years, but so long as we continue in being. And so long as we are thus obedient, we shall be happy; but the least defect, at any time whatsoever, will let in everlasting, inevitable ruin upon us. Adam, in innocence, was under the law of nature, as well as under that particular positive constitution in Gen. ii. 17: So that any other sin, as well as eating the forbidden fruit, must have exposed him to ruin. But then, by that constitution, he had this peculiar advantage, that, if he persevered, his time of trial should shortly

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be at an end, and himself and all his race confirmed in a state of holiness and happiness-an advantage never to be obtained by any one merely under the law of nature: For, in the nature of things, it is impossible God should ever be laid under any obligations to his creatures, unless by virtue of his own free promise, which does not belong to the law of nature, but is an act of grace, which he may grant or withhold, as seems good in his sight. When Adam broke covenant with God, and when that positive constitution was at an end, yet still Adam remained, under the law of nature, bound to perfect obedience, to love God with all his heart, and his neighbor as himself; yea, under infinite obligations—and every defect was infinitely sinful, and so was worthy of infinite punishment. And as was the case with him, so is the case with all his posterity: Our obligations are infinite, and so our non-performance infinitely faulty, and worthy of an infinite punishment: Though, indeed, as the case now stands, nor Adam, nor any of his race can ever obtain life by the law of nature; because we are sinners, and so, by the law of nature, are condemned without hope. Rom. iii. 20.... By the deeds of the law no flesh can be justified; for by the law is the knowledge of sin: And chap. iv. ver. 15... The law worketh wrath. And thus, as the case now stands, we are under infinite obligations to perfect obedience, and are liable to an infinite punishment for the least defect: and yet, through the bad temper of our hearts, we are unable to yield any obedience, and are in a disposition to be continually treasuring up wrath against the day of wrath.

Now, I say, the supreme King of heaven and earth was not moved to entertain designs of mercy towards a sinful, guilty, undone world, from a supposition that the law of nature was too severe, or that it would have been any thing like unmercifulness to have dealt with all mankind according to that rule: For,

All that this law requires, is, that since God is infinitely amiable in himself, and has such an entire right to us, and absolute authority over us as his creatures, we therefore ought to love him with all our hearts, and be entirely devoted to him, to do

his will and keep his commands, seeking his glory; and that, since our neighbors are such as we...of the same species, and under the same general circumstances, we therefore ought to love our neighbor as ourselves ;—both which things are, in their own nature, right, and fit, and reasonable: so that the law is hoby: And all that this law threatens, in case of any transgression, is, that since our obligations are infinite, and so the least defect infinitely wrong, therefore every such defect should be punished with the everlasting pains of hell....and that in exact proportion to the several aggravations attending each trangression;—which is also, in its own nature, right, and fit, and reasonable so that the law is just: And that perfect holiness which this law requires, i. e. to love God with all our hearts, and our neighbors as ourselves, is the highest perfection our nature is capable of, and altogether suited to make us happy: so that the law is good. But,

It is not severe, nor any thing like unmercifulness, to deal with mankind according to a rule, which is, in its own nature, holy, just, and good; but rather, it must have been agreeable to the holiness, justice, and goodness of the great Governor of the world so to do: And indeed, were not this the case, it would have been fit this law should have been repealed. Mankind did not need to be redeemed from the curse of an unrighteous law; for such a law ought to be laid aside, and its curses never executed. God would have been bound in justice to have abolished an unrighteous law. There is no need of Christ or gospel-grace in the case: and so all the high commendations of the grace of God in providing a Savior, as being rich, free, and wonderful, are groundless, and cast much reproach upon mankind, as being a guilty race, righteously condemned, when, in truth, it is no such thing. God ought to have owned that the law was wrong, and to have repealed it-and not to have proceeded as if it was very good, and mankind altogether to blame, and worthy of eternal damnation: And mightily would this have pleased an apostate, proud, and guilty world; and, at the same time, cast infinite reproach upon God and his holy law, and shut out all the grace of the gospel.

God has therefore, in the gospel, not only supposed the law to be holy, just, and good, and mankind righteously condemned; but has taken all possible care to make it evident that he does so, and thereby to secure the honor of his law, discountenance sin, humble the sinner, and exalt and magnify his grace. Even the whole scheme of the gospel is wisely calculated to attain these ends, as we shall see hereafter. So far was God from being moved to pity mankind, from a supposition that they had, in this respect, been too severely dealt with, and so objects of pity in that sense, that, on the contrary, he most perfectly approved of the law, as holy, just, and good-and was altogether in it, that mankind deserved to be proceeded with according to it: Yea, so highly did he approve of his holy law, and so odious and ill-deserving did mankind appear in his eyes for breaking it, that their sin cried aloud for vengeance in his ears ;—yea, cried so loud for vengeance, that he judged it necessary that his own Son should appear in their stead and die in their room, to the end that he might be just....might act consistently with the holiness and justice of his nature, while he showed mercy to them... Rom. iii. 9-26: In such a light he viewed things-in such a light must we therefore view them too, or we can never truly understand our need of Christ and gospel-grace, or cordially acquiesce in the gospel-way of salvation; but rather shall be disposed to quarrel with the strictness of the law, and think ourselves abused, and imagine that God deals hardly with us.

3. Nor was the supreme Being moved to entertain designs of mercy towards mankind, from a supposition that their inabil ity to yield perfect obedience made them the less to blame, and so the more proper objects of pity on that account: For mankind are not the less to blame for their inability; but the more unable they are, the greater is their blame-and so the more proper objects are they of the divine wrath and vengeance.

God is a most excellent and amiable Being. He infinitely deserves our highest love and esteem, and supreme delight. It is perfectly fit we should be of a disposition to say, Whom have we in heaven but thee? and there is nothing on earth we desire

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