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what is not made known, to the Uncertainty and Falfhood of what is moft clearly revealed.——The Holy Scriptures speak to and of those to whom they are fent; and it being only Matter of vain, if not impious Curiofity in us, to inquire into it, the Almighty has no where thought fit to give us any explicit Account what will be the final State and Condition of those who neither did, nor could know them. This we know, that he is a God of infinite Holiness, Purity, and Juftice; that he will diftribute his Rewards with an equal and impartial Hand; and that he will finally punish no Man farther than shall be equal to his Guilt. And this we know, that it is the Lamb of God alone who hath taken away the Sins of the World; and that no Man whatsoever cometh unto the Father but by him; and confequently, that whosefoever Sins are remitted, will be remitted through his Atonement; that whofoever fhall attain to the Manfions of eternal Blifs, by this Saviour's Merits will he obtain it; and that no one can have a Claim and Title to the one, who either knows not, or will not embrace the other. But how far this Atonement will be applied to those to whom it has not been revealed, whether only to a Remiffion of Guilt, or to any or great Degrees of Glory, the Holy Spirit has not thought fit clearly to inform us; and it therefore becomes us not to be wife above that which is written, but to leave them, as the Sacred Writers do,

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to God's uncovenanted Mercies.-The Divine Writers are clear in affuring us, that the Merits of Chrift are as extenfive as the Guilt of Adam; and give us good Ground of Hope, that the virtuous Heathen, who diligently followed the best Light they had, will be bleffed with a Share of what was purchased by those Merits, in Proportion to their Capacities and Growth in Virtue; and if they do not think fit to defcend to more minute Questions, which fo little Concern us, they are yet very plain and explicit in what is of the utmost Importance to us, namely,

3. The third Particular, which is, that they among us, who impiously reject the Gospel, can have no juft Caufe to hope for the Remiffion of their Sins, and much less to expect to partake of any Happiness in the World to come. And this will, I conceive, be very evident, if it be confidered that Reason cannot of itself afcertain this Hope and Expectation to them, and that Revelation exprefly affirms the contrary.

The only Foundation for this vain and prefumptuous Hope is, that Repentance alone is fufficient to reinftate Offenders in the Favour of God, and entitle them to Happiness.-But this Foundation must be too weak to fupport fuch a Superftructure; unless it can first be proved, that this Repentance itself is both satisfactory and meritorious.-For to hope for

Pardon

Pardon and Forgiveness at the Hands of God, without finding out fome Means to make Satisfaction to his Juftice; and to expect future Happiness without any Claim to it, either from their own, or the Merits of others, is to build their Expectations on weak and very uncertain Grounds, and fuch as have no fure Warrant from the Nature of Things, or the Attributes of God.-It is eternally reasonable in the Nature of Things, that all poffible Honour and Regard fhould be paid, by all rational Creatures, to their Omnipotent and All-bountiful Creator; and it is moft evident, that the only true and proper Method of paying, is by a regular and uniform Obedience to his Laws. -It is likewife very reasonable and just in the Nature of Things, that when those Laws are tranfgreffed, and his Authority infulted, fome proper Method fhould be taken to vindicate that Authority, and preferve those Laws from Contempt; and the most plain and obvious Method of doing this, is by inflicting fuch Punishment on the Perfon of the Offender, as is equal to the Nature and Heinousness of the Crime. And with refpect to the Divine Attributes, tho' on the one hand it be allowed that God may in Mercy remit of that Punishment, yet it must be granted on the other, that infinite Wisdom muft do this in fuch a Manner, as is confiftent with infinite Holiness and Justice; and the Reach and Penetration of the wifeft of Men has neyer yet been able to

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invent any Means, which they could prove to be so, without the Suffering of him that offended. And as to this of Repentance, it is indeed the best Method which the Sinner can take, and all that he can do, without Suffering; but how can his Reason affure him, that God will thus commute with him, and not fatisfy his Justice, as well as display his Mercy?-Repentance is at beft no more than avoiding Tranfgreffions for the future; it is only taking due Care not to add to the Number of them; and how then can he justly conclude, that the Debts he has already contracted will certainly be forgiven him, only because he is careful not to multiply and increase them? Is this Thought reasonable and juft with respect to human Authority, and in Offences committed against the Laws of Man? -Will it be allowed as a juft Plea, that the Murderer has a Right to efcape unpunished, because he refolves and is careful not to repeat his Crime?- He may indeed prefume on an Exemption from Punishment, and fondly rely upon it; but no Man furely will contend, that this Expectation is well-grounded, or the Plea valid.--And no lefs dangerous therefore must be the Prefumption of those Unbelievers among us, who deceive themselves with expecting to escape the Wrath and Vengeance of God for their Tranfgreffions, without finding out fome Means to fatisfy and appease him; which they can never prove, that VOL. II. Repentance

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Repentance alone is, or can be fufficient to do.

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And if it cannot make Satisfaction for Sin, much less can it merit for them the Happiness of Heaven.-For they could have had no Claim of themselves to this Happiness, if they had always been obedient, and never tranfgreffed at all. The most perfect and unfinning Obedience is no more than is due to the Laws of God; and when discharged could be no Restraint or Obligation upon him to give the Happiness before defcribed. And if by Obedience without Sin we could not merit at his Hands, much lefs can we pretend to merit only by a Return to that Obedience. -And fince without an equal Merit we could have no Claim to Salvation, all that remains without any must be fome Probability only, that God may and will beftow it on thofe that diligently feek him, and to the utmost of their Opportunities and Abilities endeavour fincerely to ferve and obey him.-Which is fo far from the Cafe of those who here reject the Gofpel, that these Men do all that in them lyes to affront the God of Heaven to his Face. -They reject Truths which they know, or might have known, to come from him with all the Evidence they are capable of receiving; they must have even taken Pains to conquer their Prejudices in Favour of these Truths; and it must have been with many Struggles, and much Reluctance, that they have brought

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