VI.

SER M. in it than a debt or an injury in refpect of man; that there is no more mystery in the forgiveness of fin as it is a real act of the nature of God, than in our remitting a debt; and that receding from a right is the fame in God that it is in man.

This is the great arcanum in divinity which they have been labouring at, but have shamefully failed in the performance; and when they imagined they had just attained it, they are as much to begin as ever. Therefore be

I

fore they enter upon this great undertaking, if may without offence give them my opinion, I take theirs to be the very cafe of that man who is not fatisfied with the production of gold in the ordinary way of nature, and lays afide all endeavours of raifing his fortune by that which is current in the world, to throw away all his time, and thought, and reduce himself to beggary in finding out the philofophers ftone; only with this difference, that this man trifles with his fortune, and they with their fouls. For thus they utterly reject the plain and common sense of the revelations of God, and that ordinary way of falvation by a propitiation to his juftice, to find out a more compendious way of their own; which, for ought they will ever demonstrate, hath as little foundation in grace as the other in nature: And they are both undone by the fame vanity, of thinking themselves wiser and more knowing than the rest of mankind.

Though

VI.

Though by this time it appears that our SER M. faith of this mystery doth not depend upon fuch nice abftractions as thefe are, yet as far as our understanding will go in things of this nature, it appears agreeable to the best and most impartial reason of man, that the nature of God could not be reconciled to fin without a propitiation or fatisfaction. I have agreed to lay afide the word justice, and if they will do the fame with the word rectitude, fince it is plain that neither they nor we have any idea of what they fignify in God; then the difpute will not be about words, and the queftion rightly stated will be this; whether there is any thing in the real nature of God as he is, that makes the punishment of all fin neceffary, confidered antecedently to any purpose or decrees? Call it by what name you please, or by no name; but imagine it what it really is, fomething of which we cannot form the leaft conception or idea.

Now the question is thus truly stated, any one may see at first view how impoffible it is to argue demonftratively either on one fide or the other of the queftion; efpecially fo as to build all their hopes upon the negative; if we should be in a mistake, and that there is nothing in the real nature of God which neceffarily required a propitiation or fatisfaction to be made to it in order to his pardon of fin, yet this would no way injure our faith of this mystery; because whether it were abfolutely neceflary or no, we believe it made to

God;

SER M. God; and therefore preferve our faith of the VI. Revelation. And though there might have

been no abfolute neceffity for it, yet the wisdom of God would have it fo for ends best known to his wisdom. But if they should be in a mistake, which is not unlikely in a thing they know nothing of, then it is plain they destroy the great foundation of the chriftian faith; they utterly reject the whole power and efficacy of the only means of falvation. Thus they venture their souls upon an impoffible performance, by sticking up for a needlefs nicety concerning which, now we are come up to the point, neither they nor we are able to fay one word, unless we will take upon us to decide conclufively concerning that nature of which we have no other knowledge than that he is.

But this is not all, their cafe is yet more defperate; for though we should confent to put the whole controverfy upon this iffue, namely, what meer unaffifted reafon (for the fcriptures are filent here, having difcovered nothing to us concerning the real nature of God, but that He is) can determine in this matter, they will have no advantage of us; nay, it seems so very agreeable to what we know of God and our felves, that there fhould be fomething in his nature that makes the punishment of fin neceffary, that this feems to be a good reason why revelation is not more particular in this matter.

1. For firft, if we confider the nature of SER M. God we conceive him a Being of all perfec- VI. tion, he is the universal standard of all that is right, and holy, and good; and rectitude and goodness, like all the reft of his attributes, are of his very effence; and he can no more do any thing that fhould violate these than he can cease to be. As he is the ftandard and measure, fo he is the fountain of all perfection, from whence all rectitude and goodness is dervived upon his creatures; nor do they receive any moral imperfection at least from him.

Again, all pravity and iniquity, and confequently all fin is in its own nature directly oppofed to the nature of God, nay, contradictory to it; for to say that God should not be right and good, is to fay that he should not be. All this we grant they will fay, what is this to the purpofe? O very much! Pravity or iniquity is in its own nature a contradiction to these attributes, whether it be confidered in himself, or his creatures; fo that it amounts to the fame degree of abfurdity, to fay that God fhould be reconciled to pravity and iniquity in whomfoever it is, as to fay that he fhould have any pravity or iniquity in himself. Pravity and iniquity wherever they are, no matter where, are contradictory to the nature of God, and therefore he cannot be reconciled to it, and therefore it cannot go without punishment.

It

SERM. It is allowed that rectitude, i. e. what we VI. call the eternal juftice and equity which is

;

effential to God and infinite, is a real attribute ; and if fo it must set him at eternal variance with every degree of pravity and iniquity; for God is unchangeable and will ever be the fame; nor will pravity and iniquity ever be any thing than what it is to all eternity; and wherever it is the fame, oppofition and contradiction to the nature of God will remain. So that it is as abfurd to imagine that this eternal rectitude of God fhould pass by that which is neither right nor equitable, as if it were both as to think that a ftrait line fhall agree to a crooked. And therefore forgiving of fin without punishment is a receding from his rectitude; a receding from himself; a changing of his nature, and condescending to be fome thing that he was not before. I know not how they will get over this, who hold that God cannot only forgive fins that are repented of, but might have forgiven all unrepented fin if he had thought fit, before he promised the contrary; this the Socinians overlooked when they made those frank conceffions that rectitude and goodness were attributes effential to God, and that pravity and iniquity was opposed to them. Yes, they fay well, they are opposed to them, and ever will be fo where foever they are, notwithstanding all the labour they are at to bring them together.

Now,