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against him as his enemy, what cannot he do with him? How dreadful must it be to fall into the hands of such an enemy! Surely, "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Heb, x. 31.

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2. If God be your mere enemy, you may rationally conclude that he will act as such in his dealings with you. We have already observed that you are a mere enemy to God; that is, have enmity without any love or true respect. So, if you continue to be so, God will appear to be your mere enemy; and will be so forever without being reconciled. But if it be so, he will doubtless act as such. If he eternally hates he will act in his dealings with you as one that hates you with mere hatred, without any love or pity. The proper tendency and aim of hatred, is the misery of the object hated; misery, and nothing else. So that you may expect God will make you miserable, and that you will not be spared; for sparing is not the effect of hatred, but of pity and mercy, which is a quite different thing from enmity.

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Now God does not act as your mere enemy; if he corrects you, it is in measure. He now exercise's abundance of mercy to you. He threatens you now, but it is in a way of warning, and so in a merciful way. He now calls and invites, and strives with you, and waits to be gracious to you. But hereafter there will be an end of all these things: In another world God will cease to show you mercy.

3. If you will continue God's enemy, you may rationally conclude that God will deal with you so as to make it appear how dreadful it is to have God for an enemy. It is very dread

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ful to have a mighty prince for an enemy. king is as the roaring of a lion, Prov. xix. 12. But if the wrath of a man, a fellow worm, be so terrible,what is the wrath of God! And God will doubtless show it to be immensely more dreadful. If you will be an enemy, God will make you know that it is not a light thing to be an enemy to him, and have him for an enemy to you. God will doubtless glorify himself as an enemy, in his dealings with those to whom he is

an enemy. That is, he will act so as to glorify those attributes

which he exercises as an enemy; which are his majesty, his

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power and justice. God will deal so with you as to glorify these attributes in your destruction. His great majesty, his

awful justice, and mighty power, shall be showed upon you. "What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much long suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction." Rom. ix. 22.

(4.) Consider what God has said he will do to his enemies. He has declared that they shall not escape, but that he will surely punish them. "Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies, thy right hand shall find out all those that hate thee," Psal. xxi. 8. "And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: He will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face," Deut. vii. 10. "The Lord shall wound the head of his enemies, and the hairy scalp of such an one as goeth on still in his trespasses." Psal. Ixviii. 21.

Yea, God hath sworn, that he will be avenged on them; and that in a most awful and dreadful manner. "For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live forever. If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and I will reward them that hate me. I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, (and my sword shall devour flesh) and that with the blood of the slain....from the beginning of revenges on the enemy." Deut. xxxii. 40, 41, 42. The terribleness of that destruction that God will bring on his enemies, is here variously set forth. As particularly in God's "whetting his glittering sword," as one that prepares himself to do some great execution. "His hands take hold on judgment," to signify that he will surely reward them as they deserve." will render vengeance to his enemies, and reward them that hate him." i. e. He will render their full reward; he will not fail or come short. As in the forementioned place it was said he would not be slack in this matter. "I will make mine arrows drunk with blood." This signifies the greatness of the destruction. It shall not be a little of their blood that shall satisfy; but his arrows shall be glutted with their blood. "And his sword shall devour flesh." That is, it shall make

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dreadful waste of it. Hereby is very lively set forth the terrible manner in which God will one day rise up and execute vengeance on his enemies.

Again, the totality and perfection of their destruction is represented in the following words: "The wicked shall perish, the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs, they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away," Psal. xxxvi. 20. The fat of lambs, when it is burnt in the fire, burns all up; there is not so much as a cinder left; it all consumes into smoke. This is made use of here to represent the perfect destruction of God's enemies in his wrath. So God hath promised Christ, that he would make his enemies his footstool, Psal. cx. 1. i. e. He would pour the greatest contempt upon them, and as it were tread them under foot.

Consider that all these things will be executed on you if you continue God's enemies,

Inf. IV. If it be so, that natural men are God's enemies, hence we may learn how justly God may refuse to show you mercy. For is God obliged to show mercy to his enemies? Is God bound to set his love on them that have no love to him; but hate him with perfect hatred? Is God bound to come and dwell with them that have an aversion to him, and choose to keep at a distance from him, and fly from him as one that is hateful to them? If you earnestly desire the salvation of your soul, is God bound to comply with your desires, when you do always resist and oppose his will? Is God bound to be persuaded and overcome by your prayers, when you are obstinate in your opposition to him, and refuse to yield obedience to him? Is God bound to put honor upon you, and to advance you to such dignity as to be a child of the king of kings, and the heir of the kingdom of glory, while you at the same time have God in the greatest contempt, and set him too low to have the lowest place in your heart? Is God bound to spare your life, and deliver you from eternal death, when you are a mortal enemy to God, and would, if you could, destroy the being of God? Is God obliged to set his great and transcendent love on you, so as to give you benefits purchased by

the blood of his own Son, when your heart is all the while full of that enmity that strikes at the life of God?

This doctrine affords a strong argument for the absolute sovereignty of God, with respect to the salvation of sinners. If God is pleased to show mercy to his haters, it is certainly fit that he should do it in a sovereign way, without acting as any way obliged. God will show mercy to his mortal enemies; but then he will not be bound, he will have his liberty to choose the objects of his mercy; to show mercy to what enemy he pleases, and punish and destroy which of his haters he pleases. And certainly this is a fit and reasonable thing. It is fit that God should distribute saving blessings in this way, and in no other, viz. in a sovereign and arbitrary way. And that any body ever thought of, or devised any other way for God to show mercy, than to have mercy on whom he would have mercy, must arise from ignorance of their own hearts, whereby they were insensible what enemies they naturally are to God.

But consider here the following things,

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1. How causelessly you are enemies to God. no manner of reason for it, either from what God is, or from what he has done. You have no reason for this from what he is, for he is an infinitely lovely and glorious being; the fountain of all excellency: All that is amiable and lovely in the universe, is originally and eminently in him. Nothing can possibly be conceived of, that could be lovely in God, that is not in him, and that in the greatest possible degree, even infinitely:

And you have no reason for this, from what God has done. For he has been a good and bountiful God to you. He has exercised abundance of kindness to you; has carried you from the womb, preserved your life, taken care of you, and provided for you all your life long. He has exercised great patience and longsuffering towards you. If it had not been for the kindness of God to you, what would have become of you? What would have become of your body? And what, before this time, would have become of your soul? And you are now, every day, and hour, maintained by the goodness and bounty of God.

Every new breath you draw, is a new gift of God to you. How causelessly then are you such dreadful enemies to God? And how justly might God, for it, eternally deprive you of all mercy, seeing you do thus requite, God for his mercy and kindness to you

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2. Consider how you would resent it, if others were such enemies to you as you are to God. If they had their hearts so full of enmity to you; if they treated you with such contempt, and opposed you, as you do God; and injured you so much as you do God, how would you resent it? Do you not find that you are apt greatly to resent it, when any oppose you, and show an ill spirit towards you? And though you excuse your own enmity against God from your corrupt nature that you brought into the world with you, which you could not help, yet you do not excuse others for being enemies to you from their corrupt nature that they brought into the world, which they could not help; but are ready bitterly to resent it notwithstanding.

Consider therefore, if you, a poor, unworthy, unlovely creature, do so resent it, when you be not loved, but hated, how may God justly resent it when you are enemies to him, an infinitely glorious being; and a being from whom you have received so much kindness?

3. How unreasonable it is for you to imagine that you can oblige God to have respect to you by any thing that you can do, continuing still to be his enemy! If you think you have prayed and read, and done considerable for God; yet who cares for the seeming kindness of an enemy?

What value would you yourself set upon it, if a man should seem to cary it respectfully to you, with a fair face, talking smooth, and making a show of friendship; when you knew, at the same time, that he was inwardly your mortal enemy? Would you look upon yourself obliged for such respect and kindness? Would you not rather abhor it? Would you count such respect to be valued, as Joab's towards Amasa, who took him by the beard, and kissed him, and said, art thou in health, my brother? And smote him at the same time under the fifth rib, and killed him?

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