■ / ^/ r" i^ 5:^ o^ o^ -iCi^ o^ "^2- OK THK AT PRINCETON, N. •) . X> CJ ^V -A. -ri O !V t> !•' SAMUEL AGNE\V, OK PHILADELPHIA. PA. Q4^ ^ ra.sv^ Division :(| c; SlH'ff^ Sectior I I Book, . \f ■^T 7S1 .G56 1786 ., , The'giory of God considered in reference to man's fall and recovery ... \^ THE :v CONSIDERED, IN REFERENCE TO MAN'S FALL k AND RECOVERY. Ps ALM Ixix. 4. Then IreJIond that which I took not azcay. I BRISTOL: PRINTED BY WILLIAM PINE. M.DCC.LXXXVI. ( i" ) iiiLU L « ■ imi wwtB«Bta"-aj«.iMMfliiifetMtt-Uig ADVE RTISEMENT. TT may not he improper to inform thofe, irdo whofe •^ hands the enfiiing papers may come, that love to viy deceafed brother by whom they were penned, the requejl cf his fiirviving friends, and afmcere defire oj promot- ing Chrijlian knowledge, are the chief motives of their publication. The Author had good natural and acquired abilities; but was far more diflmgutfhed by his piety , benevolence, humility, and unhlemfhed life and converfation. Few men, in fa limited a circle as that in which he moved have been more efleemed in life, or lamented in death. Having much time on his hands, he employed it in writing thefe. and , other treatifes of a fimilar nature, for his own benefit and amufement : and the attentive andferious reader, it is pr fumed, will fndfuch a vein of piety and Chriflian experience in the work here prefented to him, as will amply rccompence the defcBs he may ohferve in the fiyle and manner of compofition. ThefubjeBs infifled on are interefling and important, calculated to edify and comfort all ferious unprejudiced readers. They chiefly refpecl the knowledge of Chrifl, in his divine per f on, offices, atone- ment^falvaiion, and glory ; the neceffity of faith in Chrifl ; md the TT^cans by which it i^ bepun, carried on, and per- fected. ( iv ) Jetled. It was the AiUfior's fentimcnt, that the Gofp'et Call to the chief of /inner s to believe in Chrifl, and come to him for acceptance with God, without any previous qualiftcatiom, was every way confiflent with the nature of juftification; the fubjeds of which, as defer ibed by St. Paul, Rom. iv. 3, 4, 5- are not the righteous, but the ungodly. From this confideration hefhews, that all perfons^ folicitous to obtain falvation, have encouragement to come to Chrijl, under the deepeflfenfe of their guilt and unworthinefs ; he gives them fome particular direc- iions how to come, arid points out to believers the means by' which their faith and confer t may be increafed end ejlabli/hed. That thefe were notfubjeBs of mere fpecula- lion to the Author, but important realities, he gave fuf^ ficient evidence, by the influence they had on his mind, not only in. life, but even in his dying moments, caufing him to triumph over the King of Terrors, and rejoice in the profped of eternal glory. That they may have the fame efftcl upon the mind of the reader^ Is the finccrc prayer of The Editor, Oa. 1786. ■* • Cr^i>i>o, ( « ) r HE G L O R Y of GOD CONSIDERED, &c. « . ■ — ' ■■ • • CHAP. I. ^ob xxii. 2. Can a man be profitable unto God, as he that is wife may be projitable unto himjelf? ^TPHE term, or expreffion Glory, fignifies luftre, -*- brightnefs and excellency ; or what exceeds in weight or quantity ; which when applied to God, is expreflive, not only ©f the manifeftation and difplay of his divine perfeftions, but more -properly of the attributes themfclves peculiar to his nature : To this purpofe the Pfalmift. PJalm, xix. 1. The Heavms declare the Glory of God : and ike firmament Jhcweth his handy Work. All the crea- tures which have already exifted, or ever fliallexift, have not added, neither fliall add in the leaft de~ gree to, or take from the glory and excellency -of his ^divine nature, perfeftions and attributes ; becaufe lie is the infinite and felf-exifteiit Jehovah,. A * and ( » ) and therefore not capable of alteration and muta- bility : The mighty operations of his power, ei- ther in things intelligent, or unintelligent, were not necefTary to render him more happy ; nor will the endlefs blafphemies of loft men and angels detraft (ram his felicity and blefTednefs : If fo, ■well might holy David fay Pfaim xvi. 2. My good- nefs exUndtth not to thee. Nay, though confidered as the words of Chrift himfelf, (of whom David was a type) in reference to the whole work of redemption, we may fafely conclude they were uttered with the utmofl: propriety ; fince the Lord is perfctl in himfelf, and the fpring and author of ?l11 good. Thefe confiderations beget in the minds even of the blefTed angels above, the pro- foundeft reverence, and the moft ardent love and gratitude, in that the infinitely great and glorious Jehovah fhould condelcend to liften to their prai- fcs, or regard their fcrvices ; wherefore man in this ftatc of fui and mifcry, to think that he can profit God by any fervjce that he can do, is the higheft prefumption and folly ; of which all, who do fo, will be conyinced when the felf-fuffi- cicnt, and independent Jehovah fhall put that awful qucftion to them, Job xli. 11. Who kaih prevented me, that I Jhould repay him? Reader! what thinkeft thou ofthyfelf? Art thou one of thofe, who imagine themfelves independent of God ? Doll thou fuppofe, touching the good thou . >, ■ ,doft, ( 3 ) doft, that he was not the author of it ? Thou fayeft perhaps, that it is inconfiftent with the: will of a rational creature, not to be at liberty ; and that the nature thereof is, to be felf-inclined : If this be thy opinion hfearken to what an infpired penman fsiith Phillip, ii. 12, 13. Work out your own. falvaiion with fear and trembling : for it is God which worketh in you, both to will and to do oj his good pleafurt. But if thou art one, whom the Lord has taught, thou wilt fay in the words of infpi- ration, Rom. xi. 36. Ofhim^ and through him^ and to him, are all things : to whom be glory/or ever. CHAP. II. The GLORiPicAtioN of God. Proverbs XYU 4. The Lord hath made all things for himfelf, 'THHAT the Lord cannot be profited by any -** creature whatever hath already beenproved. Why then, think you, did he coiiimand into ex- iftence the creatures of his power ? If without any defign ; wifdom itfelf is degraded below the meaneft of rational beings. If with; certainly the end decreed muft be moll worthy the God of wifdom; and expreffiye of his infinity. If we be Hill at a lofs to fay, what the defign might be ; A 2 truth, truth, or mure properly: tjiC' Qed af ; truth, will fatisfy-us. i.;",;The Lord::h^tl^ iiiade all things for himfelf/',is theanfwer. How for himfelf if he be not profited thereby ?. Why, The anfw^r is pkiii viz. To declare and fet forth his excellencies and perfeftioHs ; . to make known his attributes and properties ; a«4 to difp lay to intelligent creatures his lu lire, brightnefs, and fplendoi-, in proportion to their. ' ability and capacity ta conceive, or ap- prcheild it. ■ Were mankind in their feardies and refearches into divine truths,, and efpeciailythofe which relate to thcii: etef>nal welfare,:, to fix- this point well in their minds ; it would under the influence of the Spirit of the Lord, mightily help them to an acquaimanceiwith their own hearts, the great evil of their fm both by nature and prafclice .- lead them to condemn themfclves before the Lord on account thereof, and.be a guide and prefervative in determining the fqundation of their hope of future bleflbdnefs. Whether we believe it, or not, it is an undoubted truth, that every.. fuadamental error, touching the falvation of the foul, dif- honors the perfedions and attributes of God ; and confequently the pcrfon who maintains it, does what in him lies, to frultrate the end of his creation, and brings the matter to this awful if- fue, if he be faved, God mull be diflionored. But to return. All that an infinite being can re- ceive ffom creatures, is a due acknowledgment of ( 5 ) of his excelienqies, according' to the meafure of their difcovery. , Wherefore; to pay no attention thereto, argues the grofTeft ftupidity and blind- nefs. How fo much, '*' as he-deferves;G.od having an infinite knowledge *' of himfelf, and confequently an infinite holi- *' nefs without anydefed,becaufe he loves himfelf '** according to the vaftnefs of his own amiablenefs; " which no finite being can." But the impurity *here mentioned is no finful deficiency ; inafmuch •as their moral reftitude is equal to their natural powers. Hence the difplay of divine love : be- ■caufe in creatures fo formed, it muil fliine forth in amazing fpiendor ; for happinefs isconcreated %vith their Very exiftence. and fweetly harmoni- ous, to advance the honor of the divine excellen- cies, more than poffibly could be done by the whole unintelligent creation. Therefore their exiftence is expreffive of the infinite goodnefs of God, wlio made fo wonderfully to meet, even his -own glory and their happinefs. What has been ■iaidin this chapter of angels, may with propriety 'Jbe fpoken of our firft parents. Though Adam in a ftate of innocency dwelt not in the manfions above ; yet he was as capable of glorifying God in his meafure, as the heavenly inhabitants ; wanting no knowledge of his maker neceffary to that end, *ibut always filled with the moft fuitable perceptions, and apprehenfionsof his love, and lovelinefs, ne- ceffary to-that purpofe. He clearly perceived the B 2 divine _ ( 'O divine excellencies fhining forth in the creatures around him, as appears by the names he gave thofe the Lord brought him ; and without doubt had the moft perfeB. and abiding fenfe, and appro- bation of his duty, and obligation to his great creator and benefaftor. But fay reader, Is this the prefent cafe with his pofterity ? Is it ths cafe with thee ? Peradventure, thou didft never put fuch aqueftion to thyfelf, fuppofing, that God does not expeft to find what we all loft in Adam ; but will be fatisfied with our mean and fmful fervice : however I muft afk again. If this be allowed, how is God to be glorified ? Can that nature, which is totally dead in fin fet forth the praife of infinite purity ? Does thy underftanding always conceive of God, thyfelf, and the whole of God's will with that fupreme delight and pleafure, that his law requires ? Art thou able in all cafes and conditions to judge aright of thy duty ? Is thy me- mory capable at all times of retaining, what re- lates to God's glory, and thy obligations ? What are thy thoughts ? Is thy imagination always the iubjecl of the moft fublime, fuitable, and feafon- able thoughts of the greatnefs, holinefs, love and goodnefs of God, of the things which relate to his image and authority, and that contribute to let forth his perfe6lions ? Was it never tainted with pride, unbelief, lafcivioufnefs, envy, covet- oufnefs ? Did thy confcience never upbraid thee ? No, ( 13 ^ No, not even when thou apprehcndedft thyfcif ready to enter into an eternal world ? Couldll thou then think" of God' with the greatelt delight ? Is thy will wholly engaged in obedience ; not the leaft backwardnefs and indifference attending it ; but with the moft confummate delight, dofl thou difcharge every duty of thought, word, and dee^, without failure or miftake ? If thou canfl not an- fwer thefe queftions in the affirmative, how think- eft thou to anfwer God when he fhall queftion thee ; whofe knowledge of his own law far tran- Icends that of any human creature in this prefent fmful eflate ? But if thou art convinced, that thy nature is now like a corrupt ftock, which can bring forth nought but corrupt fruit : that thou art both in a condemned and helplefs condition, under the wrath of God, and without Itrength ; fay not, it is impoffible God fiiould be glorified, and thou eternally happy ; but rather fearch and fee, whether infinite wifdom hath not devifed fome method, whereby thou mayeft be faved, and yet all the hojapr due to Jehovah maintained. CHAP. t M ) C HA P. V." "^^ TiiE Authority and Goodness gf God - ii'ANIFESTED IN TH E Co VEN ANt' OF WoRKS ■ . : : 1 ';: , '■ ' "■ 'WITH Adam and his Posterity. £>an. iv. 34. Whofi dominion is an ever la/ling domi- niah, and hii kingdom isfrom generation to generation , Matt. xix. 17. If thou ^toilt enter tnio life keep the commandment. nPHAT the Lord had aright to appoint our -*- firft parents fome tefl of their love and fide- lity we cannot doubt, if we confider the rela- tion they flood in to him : he was their creator, they his creatures : he their benefa6;or, they the recipients of his benefits : he their, father, they the children: he their king, they his fubjetls. If this liad not been done, how would the majefty and authority of God appeared ? Can we fuppofe, that the Lord would have brought creature&.j»to being, to fubvert the very end of their exiitcnce ? Is not his glory (as before proved) the rule of his a6li- ens? or in other words, has not the eternal Jeho- vah created all things for himfclf ? To have con- ftituted Adam independent of his maker would have been injurious to his authority. Even our fallen reafon fhudders at fuch a thought; and cannot ( «5 ) cannot admit the poffibility of it : but hear what the Lord Taith,; i/flzcA xlii. 8. I am the Lord, thai is my name, and my glory will I not give unto another. — But fome perfons may reply, we grant all this, yet we doubt this point, that Adam repreiented his pofterity : for can that be fubjed to any authority which hath no exiftence ? To anfwer this qucflioR I would further obferve, that the Lord not only appointed a teft to Adam, which he might have done, without granting him a promife of any fur- ther bleffednefs, though he fbould prove obedi- ent. But fecondly, he entered into covenant with him and his pofterity. Herein the goodncf'i of God is magnified : becaufe, had not Adam- tranfgreffed, both he and they would, without doubt, have been tranflated from an earthly to a celeftial bleffednefs : this is evident from the words of our Lord above prefixed, If thou mlt enter into life keep the commandments, and from many other paifages of fcripture ; which foederal re- prefentation, I imagine, none would have found fault with, had Adam been faithful. However, that the covenant of works was of this nature ap- pears plain from divine teftimony, Rom. v. 12. Wherefore, as by ojit man fin entered into the ivorld^ and death hyfm : andfo death pajfed upon all Tnen, for that all have finned, or in whom all have finned, which being proved is a fufficient anfwer to the objeBion : becaufe the Lord can do nothing in- confifteiu ( «6 ) confident vith his own glory. Though mankind in ,^eneral are very apt to find fault with this part of the divine osconomy, yet in the tranfaftions of civil matters they purfue the very fame mode of conduct. Do not men chufe a few to reprefent an whole nation ? Are not laws enabled by which many unborn are aftcBed ? Or are the eleftors the whole of a nation ; or a part only ? Yet, who finds fault in this rcfpeft ? Wherefore, we do well hum.bly to explore divine truths, and not to mea- fure them by our carnal reafon : for even this wonderful, and myfterious tranfadion, might un- der a divine influence be very profitable ; were we to ponder it with an eye to God's glory, and our own fpiritual good. liecaufe by comparing that which God required of us in our firfthead, with what we arc at prefcnt even in heart and life; perhaps we might be convinced of our fpiritual mifery and hclplefnefs, be led to deplore our fad cc^ndition and circumftanccs, be induced to admit of being fiived by the righteoufnefs of Jefus, fee- ing we are condemned by the fin of Adam ; and acknowledge, that if the one will terminate in the j^lory of jufiice in a way of punifliment ; the other will be for the glory of mercy, confiRent with ho- lincfs and jufiicc, in a way of falvation. CHAP. f 17 ) CHAP Vi. If God be not glorified in Man's Obe- dience, HE WILL BE glorified IN THE PuWt^HMENT OT HIS DiSOB E D I ENCE. ■ I Gem \wt^. For in the day that thou eatejl thereof thou , . Jhaltfurely die. T T EREBY we may learn God's immediate, - -*• -■' and awful denunciation of death on our firfl; parents, in cafe tliey fiiould eat of the tree of tlie knowledge of good and evil, which he had forbidden them to eat of ; comprehending a far greater evil, than the death of the body. Not only ,werc both our firft parents pej- fonaily concerned in this awful declaration, but mankind in general, or the whole human race, were to be held innocent, or condemned, according to the obedience or difobedience of the firft man. Therefore the -execution of the fen- tence, death, took place upon himfcTf, and pof- terity, immediately on his violation of the com- mand, not to eat of that tree. By deatli we are to underftand, ift. death temporal; 2d. fpiritual; 3d. eternal. That the death of the body was in confequence of Adam's tranfgreffion, is fo univerfally acknowledged (except by a few Soci- nians] that it would he to very little purpofe to C fpend ( IS ) fpend time" fd prove if. Buf becatrfe esperfeflGe teacheth that many die, who never committed aftual fin, as well as others, therefore, thefe men have aflerted,. that Adam was mortal befote the fall ; and not in confequence of his firft tranf- greffion : the reafon they alledge is,, becaufe his nature in innocency was perifliable: this we allov/ jn one refpeft, though not in another. If he had been above the power of death, independent of God's decree, what belongs to God might have been attributed unto him : but Paul fays, fpeakrng of God, 1 Tim. vi. 16. Who only hath immortality^ dwelling in light : however if Adam's immortality was God's appointment, whilft he continued irt a liate of integrity, then bis nature was impaffable during that ftate : for all creatures, are neither }efs, nor more, than what God makes them : they fubfift not of themfelves when created ; but, that; fame power which brought them into exiftence continues them in it : wherefore as by the decree of God, he was at firft immortal, likewife, by his appointment he became mortal ; and began to feel the harbingers of death within him : and no Jonger exempted from its ftroke than the Lord plcafed. If this be the cafe with every one of his pofterity, how is it we lay it no mo'-e to heart ? Are we not as unconcerned, as if we were to live here always ? What, do we think we have no more exidencc when we die ? If fo, we mi^ht well fay 1- Cor. f «9 ) 1 Cor. XV. 32. Let us eat and dmik, for to-morrom zve die. Secondly, By death we are alfo to under* ftand fpiritual death : this is nothing lefs than the lofs of the divine image, which took place imme- diately on Adam's firft offence. Gen. iii. 7. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked : being convinced of their fm and guilt, yet as appears from verfes 12, 13. very ready to make fmful excufes : in chap. v. ver. 3. it is faid, And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a fan in his own likenefs, and after his own image ; and called his name Seth ; which compared with the words of Chrift, John iii. 6, 7. will plainly prove the point in hand : " That which is born of the fiefh is flefh, and that which is born of the fpirit is fpirit. Marvel not that I faid unto thee, ye muft be born again." Hence it is mani- feft beyond contradiction, that Adam's nature im-. mediately on his firft offence ; and the nature of every individual of his offspring, are in a moral fenfe exa£lly fimilar. Did he, by that tranfgref- fion, fall under the difpleafure of God ? So did we. Was the confequence thereof a lofs of the divine image ? This took effe61;, not only on him, but us alio. Did his underftanding become dark, his memory treacherous refpefting foul concerns, his imagination polluted, his confcience ftupid, and erroneous, his will perverfe and ftubborn, and his affections diforderly and irregular ? This C 2 is ; 20 ) isexaftly the cafe \\'ith us. So that the guilt in^ curred by his fall is puniflied with the Ibfs of that reftitude, which might have prevented both him, and us, from adding.fm to fin : wherefore no man as he comes into the world, but will unavoidably fin, and do nothing but fir>. All his feemingly righteous acts will be all unrighteous : for as the flream cannot rife above its fource, neither can the corrupt heart of man bring forth any good fruit. Were we duly apprized hereof, it might rcprefs much, that felf-. confidence to which we arc all fo prone : to be juftified by the law, is to fulfil it : but if we violate it, in thought, word, and deed at all: times, and on all occafions, and cannot but do fo, (our very nature being curfed by it) how fhould any fuppofed conformity thereto qualify us for falvation through Ch^ift Jefus ? If we be dead in fin by nature, and not in a difeafcd eftate only ; and if th^ law be not a miniftration of life, but of death, it will follov.', no conviftions of the law can alter our flate : wherefore, when the Lord the fpirit, through the gofpcl givcth Vih; be the man's convi6lions what they may, or his legal righteoufiiefs ever fo fplendid in the eyes of men, he finds fuch a foul, not the fubjeQ. of fpiri- tual life in a very fmall meafure, but abfolutely djead in trefpafles and fins, and not the leaft graiu of goodncfs in it. Again. They who are under the law, are under the powcrof a corrupt, nature : this ( 21 ) rins appears from various parts of fcripture. Irt Rom. chap. vii. ver. 4, 5. the apoftle fhews the diiFerence between the renewed, and unrenewed man, and die caufes of it. " Wherefore my brethren, (fays he) ye alfo are become dead to the law by the body of Chrift, that ye fhould be mar->. ried to another, even to him who is raifed from the dead, that we might bring forth fruit unto God," Rom. vii. 4. evidently implying, that no fruit can be brought forth unto God, until we be dead unto the law, and the law unto us : for if we have no faith in Chrift, who hath fatisfied the law; though we fliould even defpair of ever attainincr righteoufnefs and life by it, yet the law hath ftill the fame claim on us : but he adds, for when we were in the flefli, the motions of fin, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death : evincing, that the law only irritates natural corruption, to produce more abundantly the fruit of fm in heart and life : wherefore the apoftle, chap. vi. 14. fays, For Jin Jhall not have the dominion over you : for ye are not un- der the law, but under grace. From all which, it is clearly evident, that if God's love be not mani- fcftcd to us, we cannot love him : that where no true manifeftation thereof exifts, in that heart ^m reigns : and alfo, that as the reign of fm began with the difpleafure of God, fo the deftruflion of i^ reigning power muft be the fruit of his being reconciled. ( 22 ) rcconciied. By unbelief we firft fell in Adam ; by faith in Chrift only, are we recovered. As unbelief is the root of all other vices, fo faith in Chrift is the root of all other graces. By unbe- lief we are independent and prefumptuous, by faith in God through Chrift we are dependent upon, and attribute all unto him. Unbelief puts the crown upon the head of the creature, but faith gives the whole glory only to the mediator : wherefore, where no true gofpel faith is, there the power of God is not manifefted to renew and fanftify. Thirdly, Death being the curfe of the law, cannot but include eternal death, that is, an everlafting feparation from divine favor, and an enduring to eternity God's wrath and in- dif^nation, as the juft reward offm and tranfgref- fion. Had not eternal death been contained in the thrcatning, we might well fuppofe fpiritual death no part of the punifhment for Adam's firft fin : becaufe they who are fpiritually dead, fin with pleafurc. But if divine juftice not only ar- raigns man for Adam's firft offence, but alfo for linful and corrupt nature, the confequence thereof, together with all its finful progeny, in heart, lip, and life, then is fpiritual death a very awful pu- nifliment ; and proves the great malignity of that firft offence ; as alfo, of every individual a6l of fin ; whether of an internal, or external nature.- — That eternal death is contained in tlie thrcatning, is ( ^3 ) is obvious from divers parts of God's word, con- iifting firft in a privation of eternal life. Se- condly in the infli61ion of eternal punifliment. ThaX it confifls in the privation of eternal life will appear, if we confult Rom. v. 18, ig. There- Jeire, faith the apoftle, as by the offence of one, judg- ment came lipon all men to condemnation, even Jo by the Tighteoufnefs of one, the free gft came upon all men ■unto jujlif cation of life : for as by one man's dfobedi" e^ice many were made finners, fo ^y the obedience of one, fhall many be made righteous. As life here men- tioned includes both life fpiritual, and eternal, be* ing the fruit of juftification, confequently, not fin- ners through Adam, but the righteous by Chrift, fliall inherit eternal life. Again. John in his iirfl: epiftle, v. 12. faith. He that hath the Son, hath Ufe : and he that hath not the Son of God , hath not life, Jf then life be alone through Chrift, eternal life muft have been before forfeited, not only by ac- tual offenders, but even by them, who have not jBnned after the limilitude of Adam's tranfgreffion : for it pleafed the Father to reconcile in Chrift all things unto himfelf, whether they be things in earth, ar things ii> heaven, Col. i. 20. Hence it is conclufive, that privation of eternal life is com- prehended in this divine threatning. Secondly, That the infli6lion of eternal pain or punifhment is comprized under the expreffion .{death, will appear, if we confult Ephef. ii. 3. For the (■ n ) apoftle fp caking of himfelf, as well as thofe to whom he wrote, faith " Among whom alfo we all had our coiiverfation in times paft, in the lufts of our flefli, fulfilling the defires of the flefh, and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others." If by nature all were children of wrath, then certainly they are fo, on account of Adam's difabedience : yea, and mud fufFcr eternal wrath, unlefs chofen in Chrift. But it may be objefted ; that, though the divine dif- pleafure be eternal, and the objects of it bepu- nifhed with cverlallingpunifliment, yet, this arifes not from the nature of fm, confidered as an indi- vidual ad ; but from the conftaut, and unremit- ted feries of thofe atls to eternity ; fo that, had it been pofTible for Adam after the commiffion of his firft offence to have remained holy in his na- ture and praftice, dial offence would not have deferved everlafling mifery ; becaufe his afts of nghteoufnefs before his fall, and his a8; of difo- bedience when he fell, were botli the afts of a creature : wherefore the former could hot glorify thcmajefty, holinefs, and goodnefs of God ; nei- tber could the latter dilhonor God in thefe perfec- tions according to the infinitude of their nature, the a8;s being finite. To inveftigate this very im- portant point demands our utmofl attentipn, fee- itig that many from a wrong \'icw thereof, have contented thcmfelvcs with a Savior l^fs than infi- nite ( 25 ) rite in his nature and dignity. It is to be quefti- oncd, whether a learned and intelligent perfon can be found, who denying the proper divinity of Chrill will confefs at the fame time, that a fingle aft of (in deferves everlafling punifiiment. To fuppofe fin cannot be an infinite evil, becaufe no creature can perform an infinite a6l, is not to the purpofe : for neither righteoufnefs, nor fin is of aphyfical, but a moral nature : for if we allow it to be of a phyfical nature, how (hall we maintain the dependence of all creatures on their Creator ? Since it is faid A&s xvii. 28. that, I?i him we live, and move, and /lave our being. The a6l of any creature, were it fubje6l to no law, could neither be good, nor evil ; yet it would not ceafe to be an ad. Though we will and do, we do not fo of ourfelves independent of God, feeing thefe are natural a6ls of the mind and body ; for fiiould we claim this power ourfelves, we fliould attri- bute to the creature what is efiential to the infi- nite Jehovah ; therefore they who conclude fin to be phyfical, fall into Fatalifm, and cannot ex- tricate themfelves from the charge of making God the author of it, without making the creature in- dependent of him. Wherefore fin is not a fub- llance, but an accident ; nor as fuch, of a pofitive but privative nature. Firft, fin is not a fubftance for the reafons before affigned. Neither man, nor angel ceafc to be fuch, becaufe they are finful : D were ( 26 ) v/ere it otherwife, Adam after his fall muft have been another man, than what he was before it; and when renewed, (as v;e doubt not but he is now in glory) he would not have been the fame man he was, either b'efore or after the fall. • Righteoufnefs in the creature is no fubftance, tho' not a privation as fin is : for the former is from. God; the latter without hini'. Wherefore to fay that an infinite &Q, of righteoufnefs was necefTary in the creatui^e to glorify the infinite majefty, ho- linefs, z^d goodnefs of God ; or of fin to diflionor thefe his infinite excellencies, is talking without proper thought and reflexion. Let us then en- quire what fin is ; and whence it derives its evil nature. Firft, What is fin ? Tis replied, Secondly, That it is an accid-ent, which attends the inward operations of the mind ; and from thence in man the outward aftions of the body ; and implies fome rule, to which thefe ought to be conformed, ncverthelefs are not : hence it may be divided into pofitive and negative. Sin po- fitive, Is' when any aft of the mind or body is con- trary to the law ; and Tm negative, when that is not performed which is required ; or more pro- perly, it is fo called becaufe it is a violation of the command or law of God : for no rational creature can do amifs, if the divine law find no fault with him. All our offences committed againfl ( 27 ) ^gainft one another, be they of what nature they may, are fins againft God himfelf : therefore ^lil obedience to man fhould be for the Lord's fake ; otherwife we fet the .creature in the place of him. ■Our next enquiry is, Whence .does fin .de^wve its evil nature ? As it h^s been already obferved, that fin is net the action of an. intelligent creature ■but the form of the atiion ; thejefore it is moral ; jSiYid its evil is purely objecliye : which point being once fixed, the .meafure of that evil wiU be i^ proportion to the dignity and excellence of the objeft, againft which it is committed, in refpe8: ^o human government, this jrule alv/ays takes place. An offence given to a ftranger, a fellow ;fubje6l or equal, a brother, a parent, a perfon in >o|hce under theprince, ajudge, or the prince himfelf, .carriesalefs, or greater degree of guilt, according ^o the relation, or dignity of the perfon, or ob- jed offended : how great the. guilt then, of an of- fence againft God ! Now if the evil of fm, (I fpeak not of any particular fin, but what ^6iio.n foever .will bear that char^8:er) takes itsj'ife from its being -committed againft God, then is it infinite, fince ixe the objeft thereof, is infinitCc Indeed xhere may be more or lefs obliquity in different finful a6ls when compared, or according to the circum- llances attending the fame finful atl ; yet this doth .?iot remove infinitude from the evil of the leaft fin- : ful aO: : but you will fay, if there be a6;s of fin, D 2 which ( 28 ) which have different degrees of evil, then it is fubjeftive alfo, and may be more than infinite. To this I reply. Firft, Sin is fm, as it is a coming fliort of the law, an aberration from the fcope or mark, a paffing over the bounds fixed : and in proportion as it exceeds in tli^fe refpe6ls, fo is its obliquity more or lefs ; now in this refpecl it is fubjeftivei being the form of the natural aft, and confe- quently adhering to it; but the evil thereof is en- tirely objeftive, and in meafure according to that obliquity : for what is any law without a law-gi- ver ? An offence is nothing without there be a perfon offended.' Secondly, Although every offence againft God deferves an infinite punifiiment, yet the defert of fmners is heightened, according to the number, and obliquity of their offences ; in which affertion there is no impropriety, for the law in refpeft to • its commands, and prohibitions is limited : where- fore the violations of it mufl be fo too. A perpe- tuity of punifiiment is due to every offence ; biit the degree of punifhment is limited, according to the number, and atrocioufncfs of offences ; for we affert not that finners defcrve an infinity of pu- nifiiment, both intenfively, and everlaflingly.-— Thefe points are not without proof, fee Matt. xxv. 46. Thefe Jhall go away into everlajling pumjhment.-^, (viz.) Ail who are not the blcffed of the Father ; all ( '9 ) all for whom an inheritance was not prepared. — •' Neverthelels, can we conclude that though the pcrfons here fpoken of be alike guilty in Adam, and fallen alike in him ; yet there will be found no difference among them through their aSual fms, or that fome will not deferve a greater de- gree of wrath than others ? If you fay they will then it is apparent from the text, that even one ad of fm merits a perpetuity of fuffering ; and confequently the death threatened on Adam's tranfgreffion includes an eternity of mifery. Again. Compare the paflage laft quoted with Lukexii. 47, 48. And that fcrvant which knew his lord's mil, and prepared not himfelf, neither did accord- ing to his will, Jliall be beaten with many Jlripes. But he that knew not and did commit things worthy ofjlripes, Jhall be beaten withfnojlripes. Here a difference is afiBrmed even by truth itfclf, touching degrees of torment in a future flate. But if anyone fliould ftill doubt of what is here advanced, let him anfwer that queftion put by Mofes. Pfalm xc. n. Who knoweth the power of thine anger ? even according to ihy fear, fo is thy wrath. If it be poffible therefore to fear an eternity of God's difpleafure for one fingle offence, and fuch a meafure of divine and eternal wrath, as may be in proportion to the number and atrocity of crimes committed, who will be fo bold as to fay fuch fears exceed the pu- niflimei^t. which God will inflift, (ince. there are III any ( 3^ ) "BfWLtiy to be found who are the fubjeSs of fuch fears ? Would not this be giving the He to the; God of truth, and afferting that our apprehenfions may exceed his fe verity ? But you may fay Lam. iii. 33. the Lord doth not affli6l willingly, nor grieve the children of men. True : for did not his glory require it, this would not be the cafe. — This Paul obferves 2 TheJJ. j. ver. G. 7, 8, 9. "It h a righteous thing with God to recompence tri- bulation to theib that trouble you. and to you who are troubled, reft with us ; when the Lord jefus fhall be revealed from heaven, with his mighty angels in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gofpel of our Lord Jefus Chrift; : who fhall be punifhed with everlafting