in its lessening God's essential glory or blessedness; for they are both independent on us, and far out of our reach: nor does it consist merely in its tendency to make us miserable: But, in its own nature, it is infinitely wrong, in as much as we are under infinite obligations to perfect holiness. Our obligations to love God with all our heart are in proportion to his amiableness; but that is infinite: not to do so, therefore, is infinitely wrong. But, as has been said, God has an infinite sense of the moral fitness and unfitness of things, and an answerable frame of heart: i. c. he infinitely loves that which is right, and infinitely hates that which is wrong: And therefore he infinitely hates the least sin. If, therefore, he acts like himself, he must, in his public government of the world, his whole conduct being taken together, appear, in the most evident manner, to be an infinite enemy to the least sin : He must appear infinitely severe against it; and never do any thing, which, all things considered, seems to look at all with another aspect. (4.) God, the supreme Governor of the world, cannot be said to appear an infinite enemy to sin, and to appear infinitely severe against it, and that without the least appearance of a favora ble aspect towards it in his conduct, unless he does always, throughout all his dominions, not only in word threaten, but in fact punish it, with infinite severity, without the least mitigation or abatement in any one instance whatsoever. If he should never, in his government of the world, say or do any thing against sin, it would seem as if he was a friend to it, or at least very indifferent about it. If he should say, and not do....threaten to punish, but never inflict the punishment, his creatures and subjects might be tempted to say, "He pretends to be a mighty enemy to sin, and that is all." If he should generally punish sin with infinite severity, but not always, there would at least be some favorable aspect towards sin, in his visible conduct; and his subjects might be ready to say, "If he can suffer sin to go half unpunished, why not altoAgether? And if altogether at one time, why not at another? "And if he can abate the threatened punishment in some de"gree, in some instances, why not altogether, in all instances? "If there is no absolute necessity that sin should be punished, "why does he ever punish it? But if it be absolutely necessary, why does he ever suffer it to go unpunished?" It would seem, at least, by such a conduct, as if sin was not so exceedingly bad a thing but that it might escape punishment sometimes—and as if God was not such an infinite, unchangeable enemy to it, but that he might be disposed to treat it with a little favor :-In a word, if God should always punish sins, not one excepted, and that throughout all his dominions, and yet not do it always with infinite severity; but, in some instances, one in a million we will say, should abate a little, and but a very little; yet so much as he abates, be it more or less, so much does he treat sin in a favorable manner, and so much does he fall short of treating it with due severity, and so far does he appear, in his conduct, from being an infinite, unchangeable enemy to it: So that it is very evident that he cannot, in his conduct, as moral Governor of the world, appear an infinite, unchangeable enemy to sin, without the least appearance to the contrary, in any other possible way or method, than by always punishing it with infinite severity, without the least abatement, in any one instance, in any part of his dominions, in time or eternity. And this would be to act like himself; and in and by such conduct, he would appear to be what he is. But to do otherwise, would be to counteract his own nature, and give a false representation of his heart, by a conduct unlike himself. Thus, it is the nature of God, the great Governor of the world, in all his conduct, to act like himself: But he cannot be said to act like himself, unless he appears as great an enemy to sin, and as severe against it, as he really is, without the least shadow of the contrary: but his conduct cannot appear in this light, unless he docs, in fact, punish sin with infinite severity, throughout all his dominions, without the least mitigation, in any one instance, in time or eternity: therefore it is the nature of God, the Governor of the world, to do so; and therefore he can no sooner, nor any easier, be willing to let any sin go unpunished, than he can to cease to be what he is :* For, as was before proved, it is as impossible for him to act contrary to his own nature, as it is to cease to be what he is: and he can consent to the one as easily as to the other. : Hence, we may learn, this is really a branch of the law of nature, That sin should be punished: it results from the nature of God, the Governor of the world; it was no arbitrary constitu tion; it did not result from the divine sovereignty. It would, in the nature of things, have been no evil for Adam to have eaten of the tree of knowledge, had not God forbidden it; herein God exercised his sovereign authority, as absolute Lord of all things But in threatening sin with eternal death, he acted not as a sovereign, but as a righteous Governor his nature prompted him to do so; he could not have done otherwise. As it is said in another case, It is impossible for God to lie; so it may be said here, It is impossible for God to let sin go unpunished. As he cannot go counter to himself in speaking, so neither in acting. It is as contrary to his nature to let sin go unpunished, as it is to lie; for his justice is as much himself, as his truth; and it is, therefore, equally impossible he should act contrary to either. Hence, this branch of the law of nature is not capable of any repeal or abatement: For since it necessarily results from the nature of God, the Governor of the world, it must necessarily remain in force so long as God continues to be what he is. Besides, if God should repeal it, he must not only counteract his own nature, but also give great occasion to all his subjects to think he was once too severe against sin, and that now he had altered his mind, and was become more favorable towards it which he can no more be willing to do, than he can be wil God's mild and kind conduct towards a guilty world at present, is nothing inconsistent, with this; because mankind are now dealt with in and through a mediator, upon whom our sins have been laid, and who has been made a curse for us. In him our sins have been treated with infinite severity, without the least abatement. But for this, God's conduct, no doubt, would be very inconsistent with his perfections. ling actually to cease to be what he is: For, as he loves himself perfectly for being what he is, so he perfectly loves to act like himself, and to appear in his conduct just as he is in his heart: Therefore our Savior expressly asserts, That heaven and earth shall pass away, but not one jot or tittle of the law, shall fail....Mat. v. 18. (5.) But all this notwithstanding, yet God did, of his infinite goodness and sovereign grace, entertain designs of mercy towards a fallen world....a rebellious, obstinate, stubborn, sinful, guilty, hell-deserving race, under the righteous condemnation of the law ....a law, like himself, holy, just, and good. Particularly, he designed to declare himself reconcileable to this sinful, guilty world ....to put mankind into a new state of probation....to try and see if they would repent and return unto him, and to use a variety of methods for their recovery: And to make way for this, he designed to reprieve a guilty world, for a certain space of time, from that utter ruin he had threatened, and to grant a sufficiency of the good things of this life for their support, while in a state of probation; and he also purposed to grant a general resurrection from the dead, that those who should return to him and be reconciled might be most completely happy in the world to come. And because he knew their aversion to a reconciliation, therefore he designed to use a variety of external means to bring them to it: And because he knew that mankind would be universally disposed to hate all such means, (not liking to have God in their knowledge), and cast them off, and get from under them, therefore he designed, in his sovereign grace, to select some part of mankind, (the Jews for instance) with whom, by his special providence...by the more open or secret workings of his almighty power, such means should be continued. And, in the fulness of time, he purposed also to use equal, yea, greater means with various nations of the Gentiles: And because he knew that all external means notwithstanding, yet all, with one consent, would refuse to repent, and convert, and be reconciled, therefore he designed, by his providence, and by the more common influences of his spirit, to take some farther pains with many, and try them: And because he knew that this would never effectually persuade them, through the great perverseness of mankind, therefore he designed, by the special influences of his holy spirit, through his almighty power and all-conquering grace, all their obstinacy notwithstanding, yet to reclaim, and recover, and bring home to himself, a certain number in this world, and here train them up for eternal glory, and finally bring them thereunto-and all of his sovereign goodness, and all to the praise of the glory of his grace. And towards the fatter end of that space of time, in which this world was to be reprieved, it was his purpose more eminently to destroy Satan's kingdom on earth and his influence among mankind, and more generally recover the guilty nations from his thraldom, and set up his own kingdom on earth, to flourish in great glory and prosperity a thousand years: Such were his designs, as is evident by the event of things, and from the revelation he has made in his word of what is yet to come to pass. (6.) But as the case then stood, it was not fit that any of these favors should be granted to a guilty world; no, not any thing that had so much as (all things considered) the nature of a mercy, without some sufficient salvo to the divine honor. Indeed, some kind of reprieve, I presume, might have been granted to a guilty world, so as to have suffered the human race to have propagated, and the whole designed number to have been born. -a reprieve, all things considered, not of the nature of a mer * OBJ. But if God could not, consistently with his perfections, shew any mercy to a guilty world without a sufficient salvo to his honor, how could be, consistently with his perfections, provide them a mediator? Was not this a great mercy? And what salvo bad be for his honor in doing it? ANS. The very doing of this thing itself was to secure his own honor. This was the very end he had nextly in view. Were it not for this end, a mediator had not been needful; but a guilty world might have been pardoned by an act of absolute sovereign grace. Now his taking such a glorious method to secure his honor, and the honor of his law, and govern. ment, and sacred authority, had no tendency to misrepresent them: He acted in it just like himself. His infinite wisdom, holiness, justice, and goodness, are all at once most perfectly displayed in this conduct of the supreme Governor of the world; particularly, his infinite hatred of sin, and disposition to punish it, appeared in the very act of appointing his Son to be a sacrifice for the sins of the world: For, in this act, it was manifest, that he did choose his own dear Son should himself bear the punishment of sin, rather than let it go unpunished. |