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and vifit me, and revenge me of my perfecutors: And, verfe 18. Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable, which refufeth to be bealed? Wilt thou be altogether unto me as a liar, and as waters that fail? These then are the groans of Jeremiah under his burden, and his defire that God would appear for his help, and no longer disappoint his hope and expectation.

As to the other complaint of Jeremiah, Chap. xx. 7. O Lord, thou bast deceived me, and I was deceived: thou art ftronger than I, and haft prevailed: I anfwer, The cafe plainly appears to be this; Jeremiah had cried, or proclaimed the word of the Lord to the people of Judea; but it was fo far from having any good effect upon them that on the contrary they made it, and Jeremiah on the account of it, the subject of their mockery and derifion daily, verfes 7. 8. Upon this, the Prophet refolv'd that he would make no more mention of God to them, nor speak any more in his name, verse 9. but tho' he had thus refolv'd not to speak to them any more, in the name of God, yet God thought fit to disappoint or deceive his refolution, in that he would not suffer him to fit ftill, and let them alone in their folly, verfe 9. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones `; and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay, that is, he could no longer refrain from declaring the word of the Lord to the people. So that God's deceiving of feremiah, and his being ftronger thanhe, was his deceiving or disappointing, and overcoming his refolution of not speaking any more in the name of God, and it was not any failure of prediction, as fome have imagined.

As to the cafe of Jonah, chap. iii. 4. Yet forty days and Nineveh fhall be destroyed, I anfwer, the end of all divine threatening is the preventing the

evil

evil threatened, either by preventing that fin and folly which makes men the objects of divine difpleasure, or elfe by bringing them to that repentance which makes them the objects of God's pardoning mercy; and therefore when Jonah preach'd, yet forty days and Nineveh fhall be deftroyed, it was plainly to be understood in that very threatening, that if the Ninevites did repent, and turn to God, it would be a means of preventing the evil threatened, for otherways that threatening would not have been given; for the Ninevites might juftly have reafon'd thus, If God had fo determin'd the destruction of our city, and if he did intend that his threatening fhould be fo understood as that nothing fhould hinder the executing of it, then there was no need of this threatening, nor of his care in fending his Prophet fo long and tedious a journey to publish it; because it could anfwer no good end, nor be of any manner of use to us; and therefore it is just and reasonable for us to infer from this very threatening, that God hath fent his Prophet in kindness to us, to warn us of our danger, and fo bring us to that repentance and reformation which may avert the evil threaten'd; and it is plain that the Ninevites did thus understand the threatening, for if they had understood it so that God would not, upon any terms, avert the evil threatened, then this threatening would effectually have driven them to despair, but it could not have brought them to repentance, which we find it did. If it fhould be here replied, what is this to falve the truth of God, who faid, exprefsly, yet forty days and Nineveh fhall be destroyed, when at the fame time he forefaw that it would not be deftroy'd? I anfwer, as God forefaw that Nineveh would not be deftroy'd, fo he forefaw that the threatening that deftruftion would be the very means by which it would be prevented; and therefore when God

faid, yet forty days and Nineveh fhall be deftroy'd, he could not, with any colour of reafon or justice, be fuppofed to intend any more by his threatening than this, viz. that as the Ninevites, by their fin and folly, had made themselves the objects of God's displeasure, fo, if they did not repent and turn to God, his patience and long-fuffering should be exercis'd no longer than forty days more towards them. And as this is a juft interpretation of God's threatenings, from the nature and reafon of the thing, fo it is agreeable to that declaration which God made by Jeremiah, chap. xviii. 7---10. At what inftant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it; if that nation, against whom I bave pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do uuto them. And at what time I fhall speak concerning a nation, a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build, and to plant it; if it do evil in my fight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good wherewith I said I would benefit them.

Thus we fee that thofe texts, which the objection fuppofes to impeach God of falfhood and injuftice, when they are tried by the standard of human reafon, are very confiftent with both. May we all fo know the only true God, and Jefus Chrift whom he hath fent, as that we may be conformed to his likeness, and may be changed from glory to glory, as by the spirit of the Lord,

TRACT

AN

ENQUIRY

Concerning Infinite juftice, and infinite fatisfaction.

T

HIS enquiry is two-fold, first, whether there be any fuch thing as infinite justice and, fecondly, whether there be any fuch thing as infinite fatisfaction? First, Whether there be any fuch thing as infinite justice? In order to answer this enquiry, it is neceffary to state the notions both of infinite, and of juftice. Infinite, is that which is without meafure, bounds, or limitation, and to which there can be no addition. Juftice, is the balance of common equity, by which is weighed out or difpenfed good, and evil, in a proportion exact and equal to the merit, or demerit of things, or to any other right of claim. So that juftice, in the adminiftration of good, is the exact mean between bounty and fraud; the balance of justice standing upon fuch an even poize, as that if it turn to one fide it is bounty, if to the other it is fraud : and the exercifing either bounty, or fraud, in the administration of good, is a breaking the balance of justice, that is, it is unjust, strictly speaking. Again, juftice, in the adminiftration of evil, is the exact mean between mercy and cruelty; the balance of juftice ftanding upon fuch an even poize, as that if it turn to one fide it is mercy, if to the other it is cruelty and the exercifing of either mercy or cruelty, in the administration of evil, is a breaking the balance of justice, that is,

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all

it is unjuft, ftrickly fpeaking. This being fo, it follows, that juftice admits of no fuch distinctions as finite or infinite, because in justice there are no degrees; juftice being the fame in all its acts, none is greater or lefs than others, and every of its acts, being equally great alike for in the adminiftration of evil, it is as great an act of juftice to proportion a leffer evil to a leffer crime, as it is to proportion a greater evil to a greater crime: it is the higheft act of juftice in an inferiour magiftrate to punish the fmalleft offence with a proportionable punishment: and it is the loweft act of juftice, even in the fupreme God, to punish the greatest offence with a proportionable punishment; justice being the fame in both cafes, viz. an equaling the punishment to the demerit of the offence. Juftice may be administered by a finite, or by an infinite being, and it may be adminiftred to a finite, orto an infinite being, but ftill juftice is the fame in either: and if we do fuppofe an infinite crime (for crimes do admit of degrees, fome are greater, fome are lefs) I fay, fuppofing we do admit of an infinite crime, all that justice is concern'd to do, with relation to this infinite crime, is to proportion a punishment in an exact equality to the demerit of this infinite offence: and there is as much as this done in proportioning a punishment in an exact equality to the least offence poffible. The cafe is the fame with relation to juftice in the administration of good; from all which it appears, that there is no fuch thing, properly fpeaking, as infinite justice.

Secondly, Whether there be any fuch thing as infinitive fatisfaction? In order to answer this enquiry, it is likewife neceffary to ftate the notions of infinite, and of fatisfaction. Infinite is, as I

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