that penal justice should be executed. This is to conceive of the mercy of God as a passion to which his nature is so subject that God is liable to be moved, and affected, and overcome by seeing a creature in misery, so that he cannot bear to see justice executed; which is a most unworthy and absurd notion of the mercy of God, and would, if true, argue great weakness. It would be a great defect, and not a perfection, in the Sovereign and Supreme Judge of the world, to be merciful in such a sense that he could no bear to have penal justice executed. It is a very unscriptural notion of the mercy of God. The scriptures every where represent the mercy of God as free and sovereign, and not that the exercises of it are necessary, so that God cannot bear justice should take place. The scriptures abundantly speak of it as the glory of the divine attribute of mercy, that it is free and sovereign in its exercises; and not that it is so, that God cannot help but deliver sinners from misery. This is a mean and most unworthy idea of the divine mercy.

It is most absurd also as it is contrary to plain fact. For if there be any meaning in the objection, this is supposed in it, that all misery of the creature, whether just or unjust, is in itself contrary to the nature of God. For if his mercy be of such a nature, that a very great degree of misery, though just, is contrary to his nature; then it is only to add to the mercy, and then a less degree of misery is contrary to his nature; again to add further to it, and a stiil less degree of mis-ery is contrary to his nature. And so, the mercy of God being infinite, all misery must be contrary to his nature; which we see to be contrary to fact; for we see that God in his providence, doth indeed inflict very great calamities on mankind even in this life.

However strong such kind of objections against the eternal misery of the wicked, may seem to the carnal, senseless hearts of men, as though it were against God's justice and mercy; yet their seeming strength, and its seeming to be incredible that God should give over any of his creatures to such a dreadful calamity, as eternal, helpless misery and torment,

altogether arises from a want of a sense of the infinite evil, odiousness and provocation that there is in sin. Hence it seems to us not suitable that any poor creature should be the subject of such misery, because we have no sense of any thing abom inable and provoking in any creature answerable to it. If we had, then this infinite calamity would not seem unsuitable. For one thing would but appear answerable and proportionas ble to another, and so the mind would rest in it as fit and suit able, and no more than what is proper to be ordered by the just, holy and good Governor of the world.

That this is so we may be convinced by this consideration, viz. that when we hear or read, as sometimes we do, of very horrid things committed by some men, as for instance, some horrid instance of cruelty, it may be to some poor innocent child, or some holy martyr; when we read or hear how such and such persons delighted themselves in torturing them with lingering torments; what terrible distress the poor innocent creatures were in under their hands for many days together; and their cruel persecutors having no regard to their shrieks and cries, only sported themselves with their misery, and would not vouchsafe even to put an end to their lives: I say, when we hear or read of such things, we have a sense of the evil of them, and they make a deep impression on our minds. Hence it seems just, and not only so, but every way fit and suitable, that God should inflict a very terrible punishment on persons who have perpetrated such wickedness: It seems no way disagreeable to any perfection of the Judge of the world; we can think of it without being at all shocked. The reason is, that we have a sense of the evil of their conduct, and a sense of the proportion there is between the evil or demerit of their conduct and the punishment.

Just so if we saw a proportion between the evil of sin and eternal punishment, if we saw something in wicked men that should appear as hateful to us, as eternal misery appears dreadful; something that should as much stir up indignation and detestation, as eternal misery does terror; all objections against this doctrine would vanish at once. Though now it

seem incredible; though when we hear of it and are so often told of it, we know not how to realize it; though when we hear of such a degree and duration of torments as are held forth in this doctrine, and think what eternity is, it is ready to seem impossible, that such torments should be inflicted on poor feeble creatures by a Creator of infinite mercy: yet this arises principally from these two causes, (1.) That it is so contrary to the depraved inclinations of mankind, they are so averse to the truth of this doctrine, they hate to believe it, and cannot bear it should be true. (2.) That they see not the suitableness of eternal punishment to the evil of sin; they see, not that eternal punishment is proportionable and no more than proportionable to the demerit of sin.

Having thus shown that the eternal punishment of the wicked is not inconsistent with the divine perfections, I shall now proceed further, and show that it is so far from being inconsistent with the divine perfections, that those perfections evidently require it; i. e. they require that sin should have so great a punishment, either in the person who has committed it, or in a surety; and therefore with respect to those who be lieve not in the surety, and have no interest in him, the divine perfections require that this punishment should be inflicted on them.

This appears, as it is not only not unsuitable that sin should be thus punished; but it is positively suitable, decent, and proper. If this be made to appear, that it is positively suitable that sin should be thus punished, then it will follow, that the perfections of God require it; for certainly the perfections of God require that that should be done which is proper to be done. The perfection and excellency of the nature of God require that that should take place which is perfect, excellent and proper in its own nature. But that sin should be punished eternally is such a thing; which appears by the following considerations.

1. It is suitable that God should infinitely hate sin, and be an infinite enemy to it. Sin, as I have before shown, is an iņfinite evil, and therefore is infinitely odious and detestable. It VOL. VII.

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is proper that God should hate every evil, and hate it accord ing to its odious and detestable nature. And sin being infinitely evil and odious, it is proper that God should hate it infinitely.

2. If infinite hatred of sin be suitable to the divine character, then the expressions of such hatred are also suitable to his character. If it be suitable that God should hate sin, then it is suitable he should express that hatred. Because that which is suitable to be, is suitable to be expressed; that which is lovely in itself, is lovely when it appears. If it be suitable that God should be an infinite enemy to sin, or that he should hate it infinitely, then it is suitable that he should act as such an enemy. No possible reason can be given why it is not suitable for God to act as such an one, as it is suitable for him to be. If it be suitable that he should hate and have enmity against sin, then it is suitable for him to express that hatred and enmity in that to which hatred and enmity by its own nature tends....But certainly hatred in its own nature tends to opposition, and to set itself against that which is hated, and to procure its evil and not its good: And that in proportion to the hatred. Great hatred naturally tends to the great evil, and infinite hatred to the infinite evil of its object.

Whence it follows, that if it be suitable that there should be infinite hatred of sin in God, as I have shown it is, it is suitable that he should execute an infinite punishment on it; and so the perfections of God require that he should punish sin with an infinite, or which is the same thing, with an eternal punishment.

Thus we see not only the great objection against this doctrine answered, but the truth of the doctrine established by

reason.

I now proceed further to establish it by considering the remaining particulars under the doctrine.

II. That eternal death or punishment which God threatens to the wicked, is not annihilation, but an abiding sensible punishment or misery,

The truth of this proposition will appear by the following particulars.

1. The scripture every where represents the punishment of the wicked, as implying very extreme pains and sufferings; but a state of annihilation is no state of suffering at all. Persons annihilated have no sense or feeling of pain or pleasure, and much less do they feel that punishment which carries in it an extreme pain or suffering. They no more suffer to eternity than they did suffer from eternity.

2. It is agreeable both to scripture and reason to suppose, that the wicked will be punished in such a manner, that they shall be sensible of the punishment they are under; that they should be sensible that now God has executed and fulfilled what he threatened, and which they disregarded, and would not believe; that they should know themselves that justice takes place upon them; that they should see and find that God vindicates that Majesty which they despised; that they should see that God is not so despicable a being as they thought him to be; that they should be sensible for what they are punished, while they are under the threatened punishment; that they should be sensible of their own guilt, and should remember their former opportunities and obligations, and should see their own folly and God's justice. If the eternal punishment threatened be eternal annihilation, when it is inflicted, they will never know that it is inflicted; they will never know that God is just in their punishment, or that they have their deserts. And how is this agreeable to the scripture, in which God threatens, that he will repay the wicked to his face, Deut. vii. 10. And to that in Job xxi. 19. 20. Speaking there of God's punishing wicked men, it is said, "God rewardeth him, and he shall know it; his eyes shall see his destruction, and he shall drink of the wrath of the Almighty." And to that in Ezekiel xxii. 21, 22. "Yea, I will gather you, and blow upon you in the fire of my wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst thereof. As silver is melted in the midst of the furpace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I the Lord have poured out my fury upon you."