in the Kingdom of God but the Children of the Kingdom shall be cast out into utter Darkness And however Men may bear up themselves now upon their worldly Greatness and Power certainly there is a time a coming when the greatest Persons in the World those who overturn Kingdoms and lay wast Countries and oppress and ruin Millions of Mankind for the gratifying of their own Lusts and Ambition I say there is a Day coming when even these as much nay more than others shall fear and tremble before the impartial Justice of God Rev. 6.15 And the Kings of the earth and the great Men and the rich Men and the chief Captains and the mighty Men and every Bond-man and every Free-man hid themselves in the Dens and in the Rocks of the Mountains for the great Day of his wrath is come and who shall be able to stand The impartial Justice of God will treat the greatest and the meanest Persons alike Rev. 20.12 I saw the dead small and great stand before God and the books were opened and another book was opened which is the book of life and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books according to their works All judged according to their Works I should next proceed to vindicate the Justice of God in the Distribution of Rewards and Punishments from those Objections which seem to impeach it But before I enter upon this it will be convenient to satisfie one question which hath occasioned great disputes in the World and that is how far Justice especially as to the Punishment of Offenders is essential to God And for the clearing of this matter I shall briefly lay down these Propositions First I take this for a certain and undoubted Truth that every Perfection is essential to God and cannot be imagined to be seperated from the Divine Nature because this is the Natural Notion which Men have of God that he is a Being that hath all Perfection Secondly The actual constant exercise of those Divine Perfections the effects whereof are without himself is not essential to God For instance tho' God be essentially powerful and good yet it is not necessary that he should always exercise his Power and Goodness but at such times and in such a manner as seems best to his Wisdom and this is likewise true of his Wisdom and Justice because these are Perfections the effects whereof are terminated upon something without himself Thirdly It is essential to God to love Goodness and hate Sin wherever he sees them It is not necessary there should be a World or reasonable Creatures in it but upon supposition that God makes such Creatures it is agreable to the Divine Nature to give them good and righteous Laws to encourage them in the doing of that which is good and to discourage them from doing that which is evil which cannot be done but by Rewards and Punishments and therefore it is agreable to the Perfection of the Divine Nature to reward Goodness and to punish Sin Fourthly As for those rewards which the Gospel promiseth and the Punishments which it threatens there is some difference to be made between the rewarding and punishing justice of God 1. As for that abundant reward God is pleased to promise to good Men the promise of it is founded in his goodness and the performance of that promise in his justice for it is justice to perform what he promises tho' the promise of so great and abundant a reward was meer goodness 2. As for the punishing justice of God about which hath been the great Question whether that be essential to God or not it seems very plain that it is not necessary that God should inflict those judgments which he threatens because he hath threatned them for there is not the like obligation upon Persons to perform their threatnings that there is to perform their promises because God by his promise becomes a Debtour to those to whom he makes the promise but when he threatens he is the Creditour and we are Debtors to his Justice and as a Creditor he may remit the Punishment which he hath threatned But then if we consider God as loving goodness and hating Sin if we look upon him as Governor of the World and concerned to preserve good Order to encourage Holiness and Righteousness and to discountenance Sin under this consideration it is essential to him to punish Sin at such times and in such manner and circumstances as seems best to his Wisdom And I am not at all moved by that which is urged by some learned Men to the contrary that if punishing justice were essential to God then he must punish the Sinner immediately so soon as he hath offended and to the utmost of his Power because whatever Acts naturally Acts necessarily and to the utmost for I do not suppose such a justice essential to God as Acts necessarily but such a justice which as to the time and manner and circumstances of its Acting is regulated and determined by his Wisdom and there is the same Reason likewise of his goodness I come now to the Objections which are taken partly from the dispensations of God in this World and partly from the punishments of the other First As to the dispensations of God in this World there are these two things Objected against the justice of the Divine Providence I. The inequality of God's dealings with good and bad Men in this World II. The translation of Punishments punishing one Man's Sin upon another as the Sins of the Fathers upon the Children of the Prince upon the People I begin with the I. Objection the inequality of God's dealing with good and bad Men in this World In this life things happen promiscuously there is one event to the righteous and to the wicked if the Wicked suffer and are afflicted so are the Righteous if the Righteous sometimes flourish so do the Wicked and is not this unjust that those who are so unequal as to their Deserts should be equally dealt withal or if there be any inequality it is usually the wrong way the Wicked do many times prosper more in the World and the Righteous are frequently more afflicted This was the great Objection of old against the Providence of God which the Heathen Philosophers took so much pains to answer nay it did often shake the faith of Holy and Good Men in the old Testament Job 12.6 The tabernacles of robbers prosper and they that provoke God are secure into whose hand God bringeth abundantly and chap. 21.7 8 9. he Expostulates the same matter again and David says this was a great stumbling-Block to him Psal 73.2 3. and the like we find in the Prophets Jer. 12.1 and Hab. 1.13 This Objection I have else-where considered I shall now very briefly offer two or three Things which I hope will be sufficient to break the force of it 1. It must be granted that it is not necessary to justice to shew it self immediately
of this Design and the Means how it is accomplisht This is Wisdom to fit Means to Ends and the more difficult the End the greater Wisdom is required to find out suitable and sufficient Means for the accomplishment of the End Now the wisdom of redemption will appear if we consider the case of fallen Man and what fit and proper and suitable Means the Wisdom of God hath devised for our Recovery 1. Let us consider the Case of fallen Man which was very sad both in respect of the Misery and the Difficulty of it 1. In respect of the Misery of it Man who was made Holy and Upright by God having by his voluntary Transgression and wilful Disobedience fall'n from him did presently sink into a corrupt and degenerate into a miserable and cursed Condition of which Heaven and Earth and his own Conscience bore him Witness Man being become a Sinner is not only deprived of the Image of God but is liable to his Justice here was his Misery 2. The difficulty of the Case was this Man could not recover himself and raise himself out of his own ruin no Creature was able to do it so that our help is only in God and indeed he is a merciful God and doth not desire our Ruin nor delight in our Destruction But suppose his Mercy never so willing to save us will not his Holiness and Justice and Truth check those forward Inclinations of his Goodness and hinder all the Designs of his Mercy Is not sin contrary to the Holy Nature of God hath not he declared his Infinite hatred of it hath not he threatned it with heavy and dreadful Punishment and said that the sinner shall die that he will not acquit the guilty nor let sin go unpunish'd Should he now without any satisfaction to his offended Justice pardon the Sinner remit his Punishment and receive him to favour would this be agreeable to his Holiness and Justice and Truth would this become the Wise Governour of the World who loves Righteousness and Order who hates sin and is obliged by the essential rectitude of his Nature to discountenance sin So that here is a conflict of the Attributes and Perfections of God The Mercy of God pities our Misery and would recover us would open Paradise to us but there is a flaming Sword that keeps us out the incensed Justice of God that must be satisfied and if he take vengeance of us we are eternally ruin'd if he spare us how shall Mercy and Justice meet together how shall God at once express his Love to the Sinner and his hatred to sin here is the difficulty of our Case II. Let us now enquire what Means the Wisdom of God useth for our recovery The Wisdom of God hath devised this expedient to accommodate all these Difficulties to reconcile the Mercy and Justice of God The Son of God shall undertake this work and satisfie the offended Justice of God and repair the ruin'd Nature of Man He shall bring God and Man together make up this Gulph and renew the Commerce and Correspondence between God and us which was broken off by Sin The work that God designs is the redemption of Man that is his recovery from a state of Sin and Eternal Death to a state of Holiness and Eternal Life The Son of God is to engage in this Design of our Redemption to satisfie the offended Justice of God toward us so as to purchase our deliverance from the Wrath to come and so as to restore us to the Image and Favour of God that we may be sanctified and be made Heirs of Eternal Life For opening of this we will consider 1. The fitness of the Person designed for this Work 2. The fitness of the Means whereby he was to accomplish it 1. The fitness of the Person design'd for this Work and that was the eternal Son of God who in respect of his Infinite Wisdom and Power the Dignity and Credit of his Person his dearness to his Father and Interest in him was very fit to undertake this Work to mediate a Reconciliation between God and Man 2. The fitness of the Means whereby he was to accomplish it and these I shall refer to two Heads his Humiliation and Exaltation All the Parts of these are very subservient to the Design of our Redemption I. The Humiliation of Christ which consists of three principal Parts his Incarnation his Life and his Death 1. His Incarnation which is set forth in Scripture by several Expressions his being made flesh and dwelling among us John 1.14 His being made of the seed of David according to the flesh Rom. 1.3 His being made of a woman Gal. 4.4 The manifestation of God in the flesh 1 Tim. 3.16 His taking part of flesh and blood Heb. 2.14 His taking on him the seed of Abraham and being made like unto his brethren Heb. 2.16 17. His coming in the flesh 1 John 2.2 All which signifies his taking upon him Humane Nature and being really a Man as well as God The Eternal Son of God in the fulness of time took our Nature that is assumed a real Soul and Body into Union with the Divine Nature Now this Person who was really both God and man was admirably fitted for the Work of our Redemption In general this made him a fit Mediator an equal and middle Person to interpose in this Difference and take up this Quarrel between God and Man Being both God and man he was concerned for both Parties and interested both in the Honour of God and the Happiness of Man and engaged to be tender of both and to procure the one by such ways as might be consistent with the other More particularly his Incarnation did fit him for those two Offices which he was to perform in his Humiliation of Prophet and Priest 1. The Office of Prophet to teach us both by his Doctrine and his Life By his Doctrine His being in the likeness of Man this made him more familiar to us He was a Prophet raised up from among his Brethren as Moses speaks and he makes this an Argument why we should hear him Should God speak to us immediately by himself we could not hear him and live God condescends to us and complies with the weakness of our Nature and raiseth up a Prophet from among our brethren We should hear him And then his being God did add Credit and Authority to what he spake he could confirm the Doctrine which he taught by Miracles Of his teaching us by his Life I shall have occasion to speak presently 2. For the Office of Priest He was fit to be our Priest because he was taken from among Men as the Apostle speaks fit to suffer as being Man having a body prepared as it is Heb. 10.5 and fit to satisfie by his sufferings for the Sins of all Men as being God which put an infinite Dignity and Value upon them the sufferings of an infinite Person being equal to the offences done
be utterly impossible Now these being the most easie and intelligible Perfections of God by which he is said in Scripture to declare his Name that is to make himself known to us we should govern all our Reasonings about God as concerning his Decrees and his concurrence with the Free Actions of Men and his particular Providence which are things more dark and obscure by what is more clear and we shall find in Scripture that in all these points holy Men do constantly appeal to these unquestionable and intelligible Perfections of God Wilt thou destroy the righteous with the wicked saith Abraham That be far from thee Shall not the Judge of all the world do right We may be mistaken but God certainly knows who are wicked and who are righteous and he knows how to punish the wicked and save the righteous But we cannot be mistaken in this Principle that the Judge of all the world will do right Thus Moses satisfies himself and others concerning the particular Providences of God towards the People of Israel Deut. 32.3 4. I will publish the name of the Lord All his ways are judgement a God of truth and without iniquity just and right is He. This we certainly know of God So St. Paul Rom. 2.2 Thou art inexcusable O Man Whatsoever Excuse men may pretend for their faults he lays down this for a Principle We are sure the Judgment of God is according to truth Secondly Let us always consider the Perfections of God in conjunction and so as to reconcile them with one another Do not consider God as meer Power and Soveraignty as meer Mercy and Goodness as meer Justice and Severity but as all these together and in such a measure and degree as may make them consistent with one another The greatest mistakes in Religion are certainly sprung from this root from separating the Perfections of God and considering them singly and framing such wide and large notions of one as to exclude another whereas the Perfections of God agree together and that is not a Divine Perfection which contradicts any other Perfection Among men indeed an eminent degree of any one Excellency does usually shut out some other and therefore it is observ'd that Power and Moderation Love and Discretion do not often meet together that a great Memory and a small Judgment a good Wit and an ill Nature are many times found in conjunction But in infinite Perfection all Perfections do eminently meet and consist together and it is not necessary that one Excellency should be raised upon the ruines of another And if this had been well consider'd Men would not by being too intent upon God's Soveraignty with neglect of his other Perfections have spoken those hard things about Predestination for the Soveraignty of God doth by no means set him above the Eternal Laws of Goodness and Truth and Righteousness And if this were considered men would not by poring upon the Justice and Severity of God be so swallowed up in despair for God is not so severe but he is merciful to the penitent and hath left a retreat for the returning Sinner If this were well consider'd it would check the presumption of those who incourage themselves in sin by fancying to themselves a God all of Mercy and Goodness and because sentence against an evil work is not speedily executed therefore their heart is fully set in them to do evil For it is not Goodness and Mercy finally to bear with and forgive obstinate Offenders but want of Prudence and good Government Thirdly Among different Opinions concerning God as there always have been and will be in the world chuse those which are farthest from extremity because Truth as well as Virtue usually lyes between the Extreams And here I will instance in that Controversie which has much disquieted the Church almost in all Ages concerning the Decrees of God about which there are two Extreams the one that God peremptorily decrees the final condition of every particular person that is their everlasting happiness or misery without any regard or consideration of the good or bad Actions of Men. The other that God decrees nothing concerning any particular person but only in general that men found under such and such Qualifications shall be happy or miserable and puts it into their own power to qualifie themselves Now he that is doubtful in this matter as every man must be that understands the difficulties on both sides had best take up in the middle Opinion that God decrees the final condition of particular persons with respect to certain Qualifications which speaking absolutely are not in every Man's power but yet under the influence of God's grace which is never wanting to the sincere endeavours of men may be said to be in our power in the same sense as St. Paul says I am able to do all things through Christ strengthning me For besides that this in all probability is the Truth there will be this advantage in it that he that stands in the middle is like to be more moderate towards the Dissenters on both sides than either of them will be to one onother because the middle is not so far from either Extream as the Extreams are from one another At the worst he stands fairest for an impartial enquiry after Truth and when he has satisfied himself where the Truth lyes he may more silently pass over to it without any great imputation of inconstancy which cannot but be remarkable in him who passeth from one Extream to another Fourthly and lastly Entertain no Opinion concerning God that doth evidently contradict the Practice of Religion and a good Life though never so specious and subtile Arguments may be used to perswade it Truth is most easily seen and discern'd in those Reasonings and Opinions which tend to practice because the absurdity and inconvenience of them is soonest discovered whereas we cannot so certainly find out the truth or falshood of those Opinions which speculative Men devise in their Studies without any consideration whether they serve any real purpose of Life or not Men indeed are very apt to form those notions which are most remote from common sense and use because more pains and wit are required to make them plausible but there needs no other Argument to make a wise man despise them than that they are unprofitable and signifie nothing to our practice and to make men truly better This is universally true in all kind of knowledge but most considerable in the knowledge of God and Religion because that knowledge is of the greatest consideration We need not scruple to admit some things not so evident to Natural Reason if we be satisfied of the truth of them from an higher and more cogent Reason As that God has revealed it and said it this general Reason may perswade us of a thing that is above and beyond Natural Reason But we may not admit any thing for a Divine Revelation which evidently contradicts and weakens the practice of
sin and provocation we are to give glory to God by repentance which is an acknowledgment of his Holiness who hates sin and of his Justice which will punish it and of the mercy of God which is ready to pardon it for it is the glory of God to pass by a provocation 3. We should take heed of robbing God of his Glory by giving it to any Creature by ascribing those Titles or that Worship to any Creature which is due to God alone This is the Reason which is given of the Second Commandment I the Lord am a jealous God God is jealous of his Honour and will not give his glory to another nor his Praise to graven Images Isa 42.8 Upon this account we find the Apostle reproves the Idolatry of the Heathens because thereby they debased the esteem of God and did shew they had unworthy thoughts of him Rom. 1.21 23. When they knew God they glorified him not as God but became vain in their imaginations And changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man and to birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things Hereby they denyed the glorious Excellency of the Divine Nature that is that he is a Spirit and so incapable of being represented by any material or sensible Image Secondly I come now to speak of the Soveraignty and Dominion of God In which I shall shew First What we are to understand by the Soveraignty and Dominion of God By these we mean the full and absolute Right and Title and Authority which God hath to and over all his Creatures as his Creatures and made by him And this Right results from the Effects of that Goodness and Power and Wisdom whereby all things are and were made from whence there doth accrew to God a Soveraign Right and Title to all his Creatures and a full and absolute Authority over them that is such a Right and Authority which doth not depend upon any Superior nor is subject and accountable to any for any thing that he does to any of his Creatures And this is that which is call'd summum imperium because there is no power above it to check or control it and therefore there can be none greater than this And it is absolute because all the Creatures have what they have from God and all depend upon his Goodness and therefore they owe all possible Duty and perpetual Subjection so long as they continue in Being because it is solely by his Power and Goodness that they continue and therefore whatever Right or Title any one can pretend to any Person or Thing that God hath to all things in Deo omnes tituli omnia jura concurrunt So that Soveraignty and Dominion signifies a full Right and Title and Propriety in all his Creatures and an absolute Authority over them to govern them and dispose of them and deal with them in any way he pleaseth that is not contrary to his essential Dignity and Perfection or repugnant to the Natural State and Condition of the Creature And for our better understanding of this and the preventing of Mistakes which Men are apt to fall into about the Soveraignty of God I will shew I. Wherein it doth not consist And II. Wherein it doth consist I. Wherein it doth not consist 1. Not in a Right to gratifie and delight himself in the extreme Misery of innocent and undeserving Creatures I say not in a right for the right that God hath in his Creatures is founded in the Benefits he hath conferred upon them and the Obligation they have to him upon that account Now there 's none who because he hath done a Benefit can have by vertue of that a right to do a greater Evil than the Good which he hath done amounts to and I think it next to madness to doubt whether extreme and Eternal Misery be not a greater Evil than simple Being is a Good I know they call it physical goodness but I do not understand how any thing is the better for being call'd by a hard Name For what can there be that is good or desirable in Being when it only serves to be a foundation of the greatest and most lasting Misery and we may safely say that the just God will never challenge more than an equitable right God doth not claim any such soveraignty to himself as to crush and oppress innocent Creatures without a cause and to make them miserable without a provocation And because it seems some have been very apt to entertain such groundless Jealousies and unworthy Thoughts of God he hath given us his Oath to assure us of the contrary As I live saith the Lord I have no pleasure in the death of a sinner but rather that he should turn and live So far is he from taking Pleasure in the misery and ruin of innocent Creatures that in case of sin and provocation he would be much rather pleased if sinners would by Repentance avoid and escape his Justice than that they should fall under it The good God cannot be glorified or pleased in doing Evil to any where Justice doth not require it nothing is further from infinite Goodness than to rejoice in Evil. We account him a Tyrant and a Monster of Men and of a devilish temper that can do so and we cannot do a greater Injury to the good God than to paint him out after such a horrid and deformed manner 2. The soveraignty of God doth not consist in imposing Laws upon his Creatures which are impossible either to be understood or observed by them For this would not only be contrary to the dignity of the Divine Nature but contradict the nature of a reasonable Creature which in reason cannot be obliged by any Power to impossibilities 3. The soveraignty of God doth not consist in a liberty to tempt Men to Evil or by any inevitable Decree to necessitate them to sin or effectually to procure the sins of Men and to punish them for them For as this would be contrary to the Holiness and Justice and Goodness of God so to the nature of a reasonable Creature who cannot be guilty or deserve Punishment for what it cannot help And men cannot easily have a blacker thought of God than to imagin that he hath from all Eternity carried on a secret Design to circumvent the greatest part of men into destruction and underhand to draw Men into a Plot against Heaven that by this unworthy practice he may raise a Revenue of glory to his Justice There 's no generous and good man but would spit in that man's Face that should charge him with such a Design and if they who are but very drops of goodness in comparison of God the infinite Ocean of Goodness would take it for such a Reproach shall we attribute that to the best Being in the World which we would detest and abominate in our selves II. Wherein the Soveraignty of God doth consist 1. In a right to dispose of and deal
against an Infinite God And thus the Mercy of God is exalted without the Diminution of his Justice And as his Incarnation did qualifie him for suffering so for compassion and fellow-suffering with us Heb. 2.17 18. Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren that he might be a merciful and faithful high-priest in things pertaining to God to make reconciliation for the sins of the people for in that he himself hath suffer'd being tempted he is able to succour them that are tempted 2. His Life was a means admirably fitted to bring Men to Holiness and Goodness I might go through all the parts of it but because I intend to be very short upon these Heads I shall only take notice of that Part of his Life which was spent in his publick Ministry he went about doing good the Doctrine that he Preached was Calculated for the destroying of Sin and the promoting of Holiness the great End and Design of it was to advance Righteousness and Goodness and Humility and Patience and Self-denial to make us mortifie our sensual Desires and brutish Passions to contemn and renounce this present World and this being the design of it it was a most proper Engine to demolsh the Works of the Devil and to make way for the entertainment of his Doctrine the whole frame of his Life and all the circumstances of it did contribute His Life was the practice of his Doctrine and a clear comment upon it The meanness of his Condition in the World that he had no share of the possessions of it were a great advantage to his Doctrine of self-denial and contempt of the World The Captain of our Salvation that he might draw off our Affections from the World and shew us how little the things of it are to be valued would himself have no share in it Mat. 8.20 The Foxes have holes and the Birds of the air have nests but the son of Man hath not where to lay his head The mean circumstances of his Condition were very eminently for the advantage of his Design for had he not been stript of all worldly Accommodations he could not have been so free from suspition of a worldly Interest and Design nay he could not have been so Considerable he was really greater for his Meanness The very Heathens did account this true Greatness as we find in Aristotle not to admire the Pleasures and Greatness and Pomp of the World And that his Meanness might be no Disadvantage to him those Evidences that he gave of his Divinity in the wonderful Things that he did rendred him considerable and gained more Reverence and Authority to his Doctrine then his Meanness could bring Contempt upon it Besides the manner of his Conversation was a very great Advantage to him he was of a very sweet and conversable and obliging Temper and by this Means he did gain upon the People and was acceptable to them and thus he did apply himself to them in the most Humane ways to make way for the Entertainment of his Doctrins The Miracles that he wrought did confirm his Doctrine beyond all Exception as being a Divine Testimony and setting the Seal of God to the truth of it yet because many were blinded with prejudice and tho' they did see yet would not see Christ the Wisdom of God did so order the business of his Miracles as to make them Humane ways of wining upon them for they were generally such as were beneficial he healed all manner of Diseases and Maladies by this Miraculous Power and so his Miracles did not only tend to confirm his Doctrine as they were Miracles but to make way for entertainment of it as they were benefits this was a sensible demonstration to them that he intended them good because he did them good they would easily believe that he who healed their Bodies would not harm their Souls This for his Life III. His Death which was the lowest step of his Humiliation and the consummation of his sufferings Now the Death of Christ did eminently contribute to this Design of our Redemption The Death of Christ did not only expiate the guilt of Sin and pacifie Conscience by making plenary Satisfaction to the Divine Justice but did eminently contribute to the killing of Sin in us Rom. 6.6 Knowing this that our old Man is crucified with him that the body of sin might be destroyed that henceforth we might not serve Sin Rom. 8.3 God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin that is by being a sacrifice for Sin condemned sin in the flesh The Death of Christ convinceth Sin to be a great Evil and doth Condemn it because the impartial Justice of God did so severely punish it in his own Son when he appeared in the Person of a Sinner and this is the most powerful Argument to us to crucifie Sin that it crucified our Saviour That so Innocent and Holy a Person should suffer so cruel and ignominious a Death for our Sins should set us for ever against it and make us hate it with a perfect hatred The circumstances of Christ's sufferings are with admirable Wisdom fitted for the conquering of Sin and Satan Sin came by the Woman the seed of the Woman suffers for Sin and by suffering Conquers it Sin began in the Garden and there our Saviour began his sufferings for Sin Sin came by the Tree and Christ bears the curse of it in hanging upon the Tree and crucifies it by his Cross And as he conquer'd sin so he overcame Satan by his own Arts. The Devil found Christ in the likness of a Man he judged him Mortal and his great Design was to procure his Death and get him into his Grave Christ permits him to bring about his Design he lets him enter into Judas he lets the Jews crucifie and put him into his Grave and roll a great stone upon it but here his Divine Wisdom appears in ruining the Devil by his own Design and snaring him in the works of his hands Heb. 2.14 By death he destroys him that had the power of death that is the Devil I know the sufferings of Christ were by the wise of the World made the great Objection against the Wisdom of this dispensation the Cross of Christ was to the Greeks foolishness and yet the wisest of them had determined otherwise in general tho' not in this particular Case Plato in the second Book of his Common-Wealth saith That a Man may be a perfect Pattern of Justice and Righteousness and be approved by God and Men he must be stript of all the things of this World he must be poor and disgraced and be accounted a wicked and unjust Man he must be whipt and tormented and crucified as a Malefactor which is as it were a prophetical Description of our Saviour's sufferings And Arrian in his Epict. describing a Man fit to reform the World whom he calls the Apostle the Messenger the Preacher and
Minister of God saith he must be without House and Harbour and worldly Accommodations must be armed with such Patience for the greatest sufferings as if he were a Stone and devoid of Sense he must be a spectacle of Misery and Contempt to the World So that by the acknowledgment of these two wise Heathens there was nothing in the sufferings of Christ that was unbecoming the Wisdom of God and improper to the End and Design of Christ's coming into the World besides that they served a further end which they did not dream of the satisfying of Divine Justice Secondly His Exaltation The several parts of which his Resurrection and Ascension and sitting the right hand of God were eminently subservient to the perfecting and carrying on of this Design The Resurrection of Christ is the great confirmation of the truth of all that he deliver'd Rom. 1.4 Declared to be the son of God with power 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by the Resurrection from the Dead This great Miracle of his Resurrection from the Dead did determine the Controversie and put it out of all Doubt and Question that he was the Son of God And then his Ascension and sitting at the right hand of God this gives us the assurance of a Blessed Immortality and is a demonstration of a life to come and a pledge of everlasting Glory and Happiness And can any thing tend more to the encouragement of Obedience and to make us Dead to the Pleasures and Enjoyments of this life than the assurance of Eternal Life and Happiness And then the Consequents of his Exaltation they do eminently conduce to our recovery The sending of the Holy Ghost to lead us into all truth to sanctifie us to assist us and to comfort us under the greatest Troubles and Afflictions and the powerful Intercession of Christ in our behalf and his return to Judgment the expectation whereof is the great Argument to Repentance and Holiness of Life Acts 17.30 31. And the times of this ignorance God winked at but now commandeth all Men every where to repent Because he hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the World in righteousness by that Man whom he hath ordained whereof he hath given assurance unto all Men in that he hath raised him from the dead And thus I have endeavoured to prove that the Redemption of Man by Jesus Christ is a Design of admirable Wisdom The use I shall make of it is to convince us of the Uunreasonableness of unbelief and the Folly and Madness of Impenitency First The unreasonableness of Unbelief The Gospel reveals to us the wise Counsel and Dispensation of God for our Redemption and those who disbelieve the Gospel they reject the counsel of God against themselves as it is said of the unbelieving Pharisees and Lawyers Luke 7.30 The Gospel reveals to us a design so reasonable and full of Wisdom that they who can disbelieve it are desperate Persons devoted to ruin 1 Cor. 1.18 The cross of Christ is to them that perish foolishness 2 Cor. 4.3 4. But if our Gospel be hid it is hid to them that are lost in whom the God of this World hath blinded the eyes of them that believe not lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ who is the image of God should shine unto them The Gospel carries so much light and evidence in it that it cannot be hid from any but such whose Eyes are blinded by the Devil and their Lusts He that will duly weigh and consider Things and look narrowly into this wise dispensation of God shall find nothing to object against it nay shall discover in it the greatest motives and inducements to believe We are apt to believe any thing that is reasonable especially if it be for our Advantage now this wise dispensation of God is not only reasonable in it self but beneficial to us it does at once highly gratifie our Understandings and satisfie our Interest why should we not then believe and entertain it I. The design of the Gospel is reasonable and gratifies our Understandings And in this respect the Gospel hath incomparable Advantages above any other Religion The end of all Religion is to advance Piety and Holiness and real Goodness among Men and the more any Religion advanceth these the more reasonable it is Now the great Incitements and Arguments to Piety are the Excellency and Perfection of the Divine Nature fear of Punishment and hopes of Pardon and Rewards Now the Gospel represents all these to the greatest advantage 1. It represents the Perfections of God to the greatest advantage especially those which tend most to the promotion of Piety and the love of God in us his Justice and Mercy 1. His Justice The Gospel represents it inflexible in its Rights and inexorable and that will not in any case let Sin go unpunish'd The impartiality of the Divine Justice appears in this Dispensation that when God pardons the Sinner yet he will punish Sin so severely in his own Son who was the Surety Now what could more tend to discountenance Sin and convince us of the great evil of it 2. His Mercy This Dispensation is a great demonstration of the Mercy and Goodness and Love of God in sending his Son to die for Sinners and in saving us by devoting and sacrificing him John 3.16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son Rom. 5.8 But God commendeth his love towards us in that while we were yet Sinners Christ died for us 1 John 4.9 10. In this was manifested the love of God towards us because God sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him Herein is love not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins Now this representation of God's Mercy and Love which the Gospel makes is of great force and efficacy to melt our Hearts into love to God 2. The Second Argument to Piety is fear of Punishment The Gospel hath revealed to us the misery of those who continue in their Sin it hath made clear and terrible discoveries of those Torments which attend sinners in another World and hath open'd to us the Treasures of God's Wrath so that now under the Gospel hell is naked before us and destruction hath no covering and this is one thing which makes the Gospel so powerful an Engine to destroy sin Rom. 1.16 18. The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation for therein is the wrath of God revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men 3. Hopes of Pardon and Reward And this added to the former renders the Gospel the most powerful Instrument to take men off from sin and engage them to Holiness that can be imagin'd The Means to draw Men from sin when they are once awaken'd with the fear of Vengeance is hopes of Pardon and Mercy and the way to encourage Obedience for the future is hope of
Reward Now as an Argument to us to retreat and draw back from sin the Gospel promises pardon and indempnity to us and as an incitement to Holiness the Gospel opens Heaven to us and sets before us everlasting Glory and Happiness and gives us the greatest assurance of it This is the First The Design of the Gospel is reasonable in that it does eminently and directly serve the ends of Piety and Religion II. This Dispensation of God is beneficial to us and satisfies our Interest and this adds to the unreasonableness of our Unbelief this Design of God being not only reasonable in it self but desirable to us that it should be so because of the eminent Advantages that redound to us by it The Design of the Gospel is to deliver from the Guilt and Dominion of Sin and the Tyranny of Satan to restore us to the Image and Favour of God and by making us partakers of a Divine Nature to bring us to Eternal Life And is there any thing of real Advantage which is not comprehended in this Is it not desirable to every Man that there should be a way whereby our guilty Consciences may be quieted and appeased whereby we may be delivered from the fear of Death and Hell Is it not desirable to be freed from the slavery of our Lusts and rescued from the Tyranny and Power of the great Destroyer of Souls Is it not desirable to be like God and to be assured of his Love and Favour who is the best Friend and the most dangerous Enemy and to be secur'd that when we leave this World we shall be unspeakably happy for ever Now the Gospel conveys these Benefits to us and if this be the Case of the Gospel and there be nothing in this Design of our Redemption but what is Wise and Reasonable and exceedingly for our Benefit and Advantage why should any Man be so averse to the Belief of it Why should Unbelief be counted a piece of Wit Is it Wit to set our selves against Reason and to oppose our best Interest 'T is Wickedness and Prejudice and inconsiderateness which disbelieves the Gospel Those who do consider things welcome this good News and embrace these glad Tidings Wisdom is justified of her Children To them who are truly sensible of their own Interest and willing to accept of reasonable Evidence this is not only a true saying but worthy of all acceptation that Christ came into the World to save sinners Secondly This doth convince Men of the madness and folly of impenitency Now the Wisdom of God hath contrived such a way of our Recovery and by the Declaration of God's Wrath and displeasure against sin hath given us such Arguments to Repentance and by discovering a way of Pardon and Mercy hath given us such encouragement to Repentance how great must the Folly of impenitency be For consider 1. That impenitency Directly sets it self against the Wisdom of God If after all this we continue in our Sins we reject the counsel of God against our selves we despise the Wisdom of God and charge that with Folly and we do it against our selves to our own injury and ruine If we live in our Sins and cherish our lusts we directly oppose the end of our Redemtion we contradict the great Design of the Gospel we contemn the admirable Contrivance of God's Wisdom who sent his Son into the World on purpose to destroy Sin for we uphold that which he came to destroy 1 John 3.5 Ye know that he was manifested to take away our Sins Now shall we continue in Sin when we know the Son of God was manifested to take away Sin God cannot but take it very ill at our hands when he hath laid out the Riches of his Wisdom in this design for us to go about to defeat him in it this is at once to be unthankful to God and injurious to our selves 't is such a madness as if a condemned Man should despise a Pardon as if a Prisoner should be fond of his Fetters and refuse Deliverance as if a Man desperately sick should fight with his Physician and put away Health from him If we do not comply with the wisdom of God which hath contrived our recovery we forsake our own mercy and neglect a great Salvation we love death and hate our own Souls Prov. 8.14 15 16. 2. Consider we cannot expect the wisdom of God should do more for our recovery than hath been already done the wisdom of God will not try any further means Mat. 21.37 last of all he sent his Son If we despise this way if we tread under foot the Son of God and count the blood of the Covenant whereby we are sanctified an unholy thing there will remain no more sacrifice for sin Heb. 10.26 29. What can expiate the guilt of sin if the Blood of Christ do not What shall take us off from sin what shall sanctifie us if the blood of the Covenant be ineffectual We resist our last Remedy and make void the best Means the Wisdom of God could devise for our Recovery if after the revelation of the Gospel we continue in our Sins 3. If we frustrate this Design of God's Wisdom for our Recovery our Ruin will be the more dreadful and certain Impenitency under the Gospel will increase our Misery If Christ had not come we had had no sin in comparison of what we now have but now our sin remains and there is no cloak for our sin 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 We shall not be able at the day of Judgment to Preface any thing by way of Excuse or Apology for our Impenitency What shall we be able to say to the Justice of God when that shall condemn us who rejected his Wisdom which would have saved us We would all be saved but we would be saved without Repentance now the Wisdom of God hath not found out any other way to save us from Hell but by saving us from our sins And thou that will not submit to this Method of Divine Wisdom take thy Course and let 's see how thou wilt escape the damnation of hell I will conclude all with those dreadful words which the wisdom of God pronounceth against those that despise her and refuse to hearken to her Voice Prov. 1.24 25 26. Because I have called and ye refused I have stretched out my Hand and no man regarded But ye have set at naught my Counsel and would none of my reproof I also will laugh at your calamity I will mock when your fear cometh They who will not comply with the Counsel of God for their Happiness they shall inherit the Condition which they have chosen to themselves they shall eat the fruit of their own ways and be filled with their own devices SERMON X. The Justice of God in the distribution of Rewards and Punishments GEN. XVIII 25 Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right IN treating of the Attributes of God I have considered those
promiscuously upon the Righteous and the Wicked it would not be evident that they were designed for the Punishment of such Sins when Men did see that they fell likewise upon those who were not guilty of those Sins and consequently the example could not be so effectual to deter Men from Sin Upon all these accounts you see that Abraham's reasoning was very Strong and well Grounded as to those Judgments which are Miraculous and Extraordinary and immediately inflicted by God for the Punishment of great and hainous Sins which was the Case he was speaking of And accordingly we find that in these Judgments which have been Immediately and Miraculously inflicted by God he hath always made this difference between the Righteous and the Wicked In the Deluge which he brought upon the old World the Spirit of God gives this Reason why the Judgment was so universal because all Flesh had corrupted his way upon the Earth and the Reason why he saved Noah and his Family was because in this general corruption of Mankind he alone was Righteous thee have I seen Righteous before me in this Generation So likewise in that Miraculous Judgment of Korah and his Company when God made a new thing and the Earth opened her mouth to swallow them up none perished but he and his complices the rest had warning given them by God to remove from the tents of those wicked Men. Thus you see that as to the particular Case in the Text Abraham's reasoning concerning the Justice of God is very firm and concluding I proceed to the Second Thing which was that which I principally intended to Discourse upon viz. to consider the Justice of God in general in the distribution of Rewards and Punishments And here I cannot but grant that the best Evidence of this is yet wanting We have clear demonstrations of the Power and Wisdom and Goodness of God in this vast and admirable frame of Things which we see but we must stay till the Day of Judgment for a clear and full Manifestation of the Divine Justice for which Reason the Day of Judgment is in Scripture call'd the Day of the Revelation of the Righteous Judgment of God But in the mean time we may receive sufficient assurance of this both from Natural Reason and from Divine Revelation 1. From Natural Reason which tells us that God loves Righteousness and hates Iniquity and consequently that it must be agreable to his Nature to countenance and encourage the one and to discountenance the other that is to give some publick Testimony of his liking and Affection to the one and of his Hatred and Dislike of the other which cannot otherwise be done but by Rewards and Punishments But however the Heathen reasoned about this matter whatever premises they laid they firmly believed the conclusion that God is Just Plato lays down this as a certain and undoubted Principle that God is in no wise unjust but as Righteous as is possible and that we cannot resemble God more than in this quality and disposition So likewise Seneca tells us That the Gods are neither capable of receiving an injury nor of doing any thing that is unjust Antoninus the great Emperour and Philosopher speaking doubtfully whether good Men are extinguisht by Death or remain afterwards If it be just says he you may be sure it is so if it be not just you may certainly conclude the contrary for God is just and being so he will do nothing that is unjust or unreasonable And indeed the Heathen Philosophers looked upon this as the great sanction of all moral Precepts that God was the Witness and the Avenger of the breach and violation of them Qui secus faxit deus ipse vindex erit If any Man do contrary to them God himself will punish it which shews that there is a Natural Awe upon the Minds of Men of the Divine Justice which will overtake offenders either in this World or the other But this will more clearly appear in the 2. Place from Scripture or Divine Revelation And those Texts which I shall produce to this purpose may be reduced to these two Heads either such as prove the rectitude of the Divine Nature and his Justice in general or such as speak more particularly of the Justice and Equity of his Providence in the distribution of Rewards and Punishments I begin first with those which declare the rectitude of the Divine Nature and the Justice of God in general and that either by attributing this Perfection to him or by removing the contrary injustice and unrighteousness at the greatest distance from him 1. Those which attribute this Perfection to God I shall mention but a few of many Psal 129.4 The Lord is Righteous Dan. 9.7 O Lord Righteousness belongeth unto thee This good Men have acknowledged when they have lain under the hand of God Ezra 9.15 O Lord God of Israel thou art Righteous And this the worst of Men have been forced to own when they have been in extremity Ex. 9.27 then Pharoah said the Lord is Righteous This hath been likewise acknowledged by those who have layn under the greatest temptation to doubt of it Jer. 12.1 Righteous art thou O Lord when I plead with thee yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper The Prophet notwithstanding he saw the prosperous Condition of wicked Men and the afflicted state of the godly which seemed hard to be reconcile with the Justice of God's Providence yet before he would so much as reason about it he lays down this as a certain conclusion Righteous art thou O Lord. To this Head likewise belong all those Texts which speak of Righteousness as God's dwelling Place and his Throne of his Delight in Justice and of the Duration and Eternity of it which I need not particularly recite 2. There are likewise other Texts which remove the contrary viz. injustice and unrighteousness at the greatest distance from God as being most contrary to his Nature and Perfection Deut. 32.4 A God of truth and without iniquity 2 Chron. 19.7 There is to iniquity with the Lord our God nor accepting of Persons nor taking of Gifts Job 8.3 Doth God pervert Judgment or doth the Almighty pervert Justice which is a vehement negation of the Thing Job 34.10 11 12. Far be it from God that he should do wickedness and from the Almighty that he should commit iniquity For the work of a Man shall he render unto him and cause every Man to find according to his ways Yea surely God will not do wickedly neither will the Almighty pervert Judgment Rom. 9.14 What shall we say then is there unrighteousness with God God forbid Secondly There are other Texts which speak more particularly of the Justice and Righteousness of God in the distribution of Rewards and Punishments 'T is true indeed the Justice of God doth not constantly appear in this World in the dispensations of his Providence because this is a time
partake of it in such a manner and degree as the Divine Nature possesseth it God is eternally Holy the Fountain of Holiness the Creatures are derivatively and by participation Holy God is eminently and transcendently so the Creatures in a finite Degree God is immutably so 't is impossible it should be otherwise but no Creature is out of an absolute possibility of Sin In this sense it is said Job 4.18 That he putteth no trust in his Saints and his Angels he chargeth with folly And Chap. 15.15 He putteth no trust in his Saints and the Heavens are not pure in his sight From all which I shall draw these inferences 1. If Holiness be a Perfection of the Divine Nature and a Property of God if in the Notion of God there be included an everlasting separation and distance from Moral Imperfection an eternal repugnance to Sin and Iniquity from hence we may infer that there is an intrinsecal good and evil in Things and the Reasons and Respects of moral good and evil do not depend upon any mutable and inconstant and arbitrary Principle but are fixt and immutable eternal and indispensable Therefore they do not seem to me to speak so safely who make the Divine Will precisely and abstractedly consider'd the Rule of Moral good and evil as if there were nothing good or evil in its own Nature antecedently to the Will of God but that all things are therefore good or evil because God Wills them to be so for if this were so Goodness and Righteousness and Truth and Faithfulness would not be essential and necessary and immutable Properties of the Divine Nature but accidental and arbitrary and uncertain and mutable which is to suppose that God if he pleased might be otherwise than good and just and true For if these depend meerly upon the Will of God and be not necessary and essential Properties of the Divine Nature then the contrary of these Malice and Envy and Unrighteousness and False-hood do not imply any essential repugnancy to the Divine Nature which is plainly contrary to what the Scripture tells us that God cannot be tempted with evil that 't is impossible he should lie that he cannot be unrighteous If any Man say that God hath now declared himself to be Just and Good and Faithful and now he cannot be otherwise because he is a God of Truth and he changeth not this is to grant the thing for this supposeth the veracity and immutability of God to be essential and necessary Perfections of the Divine Nature and why not justice and goodness as well I say it supposeth veracity and immutability to be essential Perfections and not to depend upon the Will of God that is that God cannot Will to be otherwise than true and unchangeable for if he could what assurance can we possibly have but that when he declares himself to be good and just he is or may be otherwise But I need not insist upon this which seems to be so very clear and to carry its own Evidence along with it I will only use this Argument to prove it and so leave it No Being can Will its own Nature and essential Perfections that is chuse whether it will be thus or otherwise for that were to suppose it to be before it is and before it hath a Being to deliberate about its own Nature Therefore if this be the Nature of God which I think no body will deny to be good and just and true and necessarily to be what he is then goodness and justice and truth do not depend up-the Will of God but there are such Things such Notions antecedently to any Act of the Divine Will And this does no ways prejudice the Liberty of God for this is the highest Perfection to be necessarily Good and Just and True and a Liberty or Possibility to be otherwise is impotency and imperfection For Liberty no where speaks Perfection but were the Things and Actions about which 't is conversant are indifferent in all other things 't is the highest Perfection not to be free and indifferent but immutable and fixt and necessarily bound up by the eternal Laws of Goodness and Justice and Truth so that it shall not be possible to swerve from them and this is the Perfection of the Divine Nature which we call his Holiness 2. If Holiness be the chief Excellency and Perfection of the Divine Nature this shews us what account we are to make of Sin and Wickedness and Vice We may judge of every Privation by the Habit for they bear an exact Proportion one to another Light and Darkness are opposed as Habit and Privation if Light be pleasant and comfortable then Darkness is dismal and horrid And so Holiness and Sin are opposed if Holiness be the highest Perfection of any Nature then Sin is the grand Imperfection and the lowest Debasement of any Being because it is the most opposite to that and at the furthest distance from that which is the first Excellency and Perfection This should rectifie our Judgment and Esteem of Things and Persons We admire and esteem Riches and Power and Greatness and we scorns and contemn Poverty and Weakness and Meanness yea Grace and Holiness if it be in the Company of these We are apt to reverence and and value the Great and the Rich and the Mighty of this World tho' they be Wicked and to despise the poor Man's Wisdom and Holiness but we make a false Judgment of Things and Persons There is nothing that can be a Foundation of respect that ought to command our Reverence and esteem but real Worth and Excellency and Perfection and according to the Degrees of this we ought to bestow our Repect and raise our Esteem What St. James saith of respect of Persons I may apply in this Case Jam. 2.4 Are ye not then partial in your selves and become judges of evil thoughts We are extreamly partial we make a false Judgment and Reason ill concerning Things when we admire gilded Vices and Wickedness exalted to high Places I mean ungodly rich Men and ungodly great men for wicked Men they are properly ungodly unlike to God and when we contemn poor and mean and afflicted Holiness and Piety Were but our Eyes open and our Judgment clear and unprejudic'd we should see a beauty and resplendency in Goodness even when it is under the greatest disadvantage when it is cloathed with Raggs and sits upon a Dunghill it would shine through all these Mists and we should see a Native Light and Beauty in it throw the darkness of a poor and low Condition And we should see Wickedness to be a most vile and abject thing when it appears in all its gallantry and bravery we should look upon the poor righteous Man as more excellent than his Neighbour and the prophane Gallant as the off-scouring of the Earth We should value a Man that does justice and loves mercy and speaks the Truth to his Neighbour we should esteem any one more