of our imitation. Thus St. Paul, Eph. v. 1. faith Be ye followers of God, as dear children. And our Lord, Luke vi. 36. faith, Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father alfo is merciful. And St. Peter, 2 1 Pet. i. 15. faith, As he which bath called you iş baly, fo be ye holy in all manner of conversation, because it is written, Lev. xi. 44. and xix. 2. Be ye boly, for I am holy. Now if we may not be allowed to judge, or form a conception of what mercifulness, holiness, and the like are, when applied to God, and what is agreeable or disagreeable to thefe, then we can never make thefe, as they are in God, the object of our imitation, which we are exprefsly required in the fcriptures to do. Fourthly, It hath been the practice of the best and wifeft men in all ages, to judge or form a conception of what juftice, truth, holinefs, and the like are, and what is agreeable or difagreeable to thefe, as they are in God. Thus Abrabam, Gen. xviii. 23, 25. faith, Wilt thou alfo deStroy the righteous with the wicked?----that the righteous fhould be as the wicked; that be far from thee fhall not the judge of all the earth do right? Here we fee plainly what conception Abraham had of juftice and equity, as confidered in God, and of what is agreeable or difagreeable to it. Deut. vii. 9. Know therefore, that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him, and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations. Again, Pfalm xi. 7. The righteous Lord loveth righteousness; his counte nance will bebold the thing that is juft. Jer. ix. 24. But let him that glorieth, glory in this, that he underftandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercife loving-kindness, judgment and righteoufs in the earth; for in these things I delight, faith the Lord. Here we fee, that it is the proper ground of a man's glorying, that he is capable of dif cerning cerning and judging what loving-kindness, judgment, and justice are, when applied to God, and what is agreeable or disagreeable to these. Heb.vi. 10. God is not unrighteous, to forget your work and labour of love. God hath promifed, by the mouth of his Son, Mark ix. 41. That he that did give a cup of water to a difciple to drink in Chrift's name, because he belonged to him, he should not lose his reward. And the Apostle, referring to this promife, affures the believing Hebrews for their comfort, and to encourage them to perfevere in their duty, that God was not unrighteous (which otherways the Apostle fuppofes he would be) in that he did not forget to fulfil his promife, in rewarding their work and labour of love, which they had fhewed towards his name, in that they had ministered to the faints, and did continue fo to do. Finally, The ftrength of St. Paul's reasoning with the Hebrews, chap. vi. 17, 18. depends wholly upon this, that they had a liberty, and could difcern and judge what truth and faithfulness are as confidered in God, and what is agreeable or difagreeable to thefe, for, without the allowing of this, his reafoning is of no force; for thus he there expresses himself, God willing more abundantly to fhew unto the heirs of promife the immutability of his counfels, confirmed it by an oath, that by two im mutable things, in which it was.impoffible for God to lie, we might have a strong confolation who have fled for refuge, to lay hold upon the hope fet before us: Here St. Paul afferts, that the oath, and promise of God, were two immutable things, in which it was impoffible for God to lie; and this impoffibility of God's proving falfe to his promife, or to his oath, he makes the ground of their faith, hope, and comfort; which it could not be, if they could not, or if it were prefumption in them to judge R 4 what what truth and faithfulness are, when applied to God, and of what is agreeable or difagreeable to thele. Fifthly, and lastly, It pleas'd God fo far to condefcend, as to appeal to the reason of mankind, and to call upon them to judge of the juftice and equity of his dealings with them; thus, Ifaiah v. 3. O inhabitants of Jerufalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. Ezek. xviii, 25. O boufe of Ifarel, is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal? Thus, I think, it fufficiently appears, that we may not only form a conception of what God is, as he stands related unto us, without being guilty of prefumption; but also that it is both our duty and our glory fo to do. If it should be here replied, that the scriptures give us a relation of many things that God faid and did, which, if brought to the bar of man's judgment, and there tried by the standard of human reafon, will appear to be contradictory to truth and juftice: thus, 1 Sam. ii. 30. I faid, indeed, that thy boufe, and the boufe of thy Father, fhould walk before me for ever; but now the Lord faith, be it far from me. Here we have an acknowledgmen tof the promise made to Phinehas, as in Num. XXV. 13. and likewife a declar'd refolution to break that promife, contrary to the rules of truth and juftice. Again, 2 Kings viii. 10. And Elifha faid unto him (Hazael) Go say unto him (Benhadad King of Syria) Thou mayeft certainly recover; bowbeit, the Lord hath fhewed me, that he shall furely die. Here wę have two things afferted, which contradict each the other,. Again, in the 89th Pfalm we have in one part of it a large account of the promises of God to David, and his pofterity; and, in another part of that Pfalm, is fet forth the non-performance of thofe promifes, which is an impeachment of the truth and justice of God, God. Again, Ifaiab xxxviii. 1. The Prophet tells Hezekiah, that he shall die, and not live; and then, at verse 5. he tells him, that he should live fifteen years longer, which makes the firft delaration to be falfhood. Again, Jer. xv. 18. Wilt thou be altogether to me as a liar, and as waters that fail? Chap. xx. 7. O Lord, thou haft deceived me and I was deceived. Here the Prophet Jeremiah charges God with deceit. Again, Jonah iii. 4. Yet forty days and Nineveh fhall be destroyed; and yet we find that this prediction fail'd. Thefe, and the like things, when tried by the standard of human reafon, will make God a liar, unjust, and the like. I answer, The feeming contradictoriness of thefe, or any other fuch, to truth and juftice, doth not arife from their being tried by the standard of human reason, but the contrary, viz. their not being tried by that standard; for when men take in all the circumstances which attend these, and exercife their reafon thereupon then all these, feeming contradictions vanifh; and it is mens's barely looking at thefe, without taking in the feveral circumftances that attend them, and without exercifing their reafon upon them, which makes them appear thus contradictory. And this will appear from confidering the feveral texts which the objection referreth to. As to 1 Sam. ii. 30. I faid indeed, that thy boufe and the boufe of thy Father, fhould walk before me for ever; but now the Lord faith, be it far from me. Hear the objection fuppofes that God fail'd of his promife to Phinehas, and fo acted contrary to the rules of truth and juftice. To this I answer, firft, that by the terms for ever, and everlasting, as it is exprefs'd in Num. xxv. 13. he could not reasonably be fuppos'd to imply any more than along time; at moft no longer than that dif penfation penfation the church was then under: and therefore, if the promise was made good to Phinehas's, pofterity for a long time, as indeed it was, from the time of its making, to the time when Abiathar was turn'd out of the priesthood, 1 Kings ii. 26, 27. which was upwards of 400 years; then it was fulfill'd in the letter of it, according to the fenfe of those words, for ever and everlasting. in the language of the fcriptures. But fuppofing this was not a fulfilling of it in the letter of the promife, I answer, fecondly, that the occafion of this promife was Phinehas's pious zeal for the honour of God, in endeavouring to put a ftop to that whoredom and idolatry which the children of Ifrael committed with the Moabites; and the end of this promife was, that it might be as a reward to Phinehas for his good fervice, and as an encouragement to him, and his posterity, to perfevere in their duty. This being the cafe, I fay, that neither Phinebas, nor his pofterity, could, with any colour of reason, suppose that, God did intend to continue them in his extraordinary favour any longer than they did continue in their duty and obedience; or that the truth and justice of God could be concern'd to make good this promife to them any longer than they did continue to walk in his fear. The promise was made,as an encouragment to duty, which it could not be if God was obliged by it to continue them in his extraordinary favour, when they did live in a state of rebellion against him. Again, I fay that as this promife was made to Phinehas and his iffure, who were thoroughly acquainted with the method of God's dealing with the children of Ifrael, and those many promises and threats which he made to them; fo they could not but know, that God's promifes and bleffings did be |