and accordingly love him supremely. They love the goodness of God which constitutes him the best of beings, and therefore they love him above all other beings. But, on the other hand, those who discern no moral excellence in the universal and disinterested benevolence of his nature, must necessarily discern an infinite blemish in his character, and view him as the most odious and detestable being in the universe. This: we know is the case with respect to fallen angels. They now hate God supremely for that same goodness and moral glory, for which they once loved him supremely. And we find this to be the case with respect to sinners of mankind. When they are brought to realize the Being, and to attend to the moral character of God, they feel their carnal mind rise in perfect enmity and opposition to him. They view all his natural perfections under the influence of impartial and universal goodness. This they hate in any being, and above all in the Supreme Being. While they consid. er all his perfections under the influence of his perfectly benevolent heart, they hate his power, his wisdom, his justice, his sovereignty, his grace and faithfulness. They hate God in exact proportion to his goodness and greatness. And as they believe him to be infinitely great and good, so they hate him infinitely more than any other, yea, than all other beings.

7. Does the glory of God consist in his goodness, or in his feeling properly towards all his creatures, of every character and condition? Hence we learn that it is the true character of God, which sinners hate. They do not hate him, while they imagine he is regardless of their character and conduct. And they do not hate him while they think he is altogether such an One as themselves, and feels a partial regard for their interest and happiness. But as soon as they real

ize that he loathes their characters, and feels disposed to punish them to all eternity, for all their selfish feelings and conduct, then they begin to hate him with a perfect hatred. There is nothing in God, which they so heartily oppose, as that very goodness or benevolence, which constitutes all his moral excellence and glory. They would not hate him so much, if they could only believe, that he was opposed to them upon the principle of perfect malevolence. There are no two dispositions so diametrically opposite to each other, as perfect benevolence and perfect selfishness. The first forms the character of God, and the second the character of sinners. Hence sinners perfectly hate that amiable and glorious disposition in the Deity, by which he is perfectly opposed to all their views and feelings. And the more they see the impartial, disinterested, sovereign goodness of his nature displayed in his works and in his word, the more directly and vigorously their hearts rise against him. Many suppose that all the opposition, which sinners feel and express towards God, arises entirely from ignorance of his true character; and, therefore, they conclude if sinners could only be made acquainted with God's true character, and his real feelings towards them, they would instantly renounce their enmity, and become his most cordial friends. But this is a very great mistake. It is the very nature of sinful creatures to hate their benevolent Creator. They would not be sinners unless they possessed a selfish heart; and so long as they possess this, they cannot be reconciled to the character, nor subject to the holy and righteous law of God. Besides; if a clear and just view of the character of God would reconcile sinners to him in this world, why not in the next? All the damned will have a clear, realizing, just view of the moral character of

God, but we have no reason to think, that their knowledge of his character and conduct will ever subdue their enmity, and reconcile them to his vindictive justice. But if the true knowledge of God will not have this effect in a future state, then it cannot have this effect in the present state. Indeed, it is the highest absurdity to suppose, that the clear knowledge of that being, whom sinners naturally hate, should lead them to love him. But it is easy to see, that the more selfish creatures know of the benevolence of the Deity, the more they will hate and oppose him.

8. If the glory of God consists in his goodness; then a clear view of his goodness would destroy all the false hopes of sinners, respecting their good estate. It is evident from Scripture, that sinners may think they have true love to God, and stand entitled to eternal life, while they are really in a state of total alienation from God. The Israelites entertained false hopes respecting the favor of God, when they received the law at Mount Sinai. The Scribes and Pharisees thought they stood high in the favor of God. The young man in the gospel, and Saul the persecutor, viewed themselves as really religious and friendly to God. And Christ represents many as being fatally and finally deceived, respecting their good estate. Such deception always arises from sinners having a false idea of the true character and supreme glory of God. Did they understand the true nature of his goodness, which forms his supreme glory, they would not imagine they loved him, while they were real enemies to him. They would be so far from thinking they loved him supremely, that they would sensibly feel a total opposition to his character. But when sinners have only a partial view of God's goodness they may love it, and feel strong affections of gratitude to the

greatest and best of beings. This is the case with respect to a very great part of those, who live under the light of the gospel; they have formed such an idea of divine goodness, that they really feel friendly to the divine character. And this is more particularly the case with those, who have been awakened to a sense of danger and guilt, and by some text of Scripture, or by some other circumstance, have been led to believe, that their sins are pardoned, and their persons accepted through Christ the beloved. But all these religious hopes and affections are false; and a clear view of all God's goodness, or of his goodness in all its branches, would totally destroy them. Let sinners only be convinced, that God's goodness is impartial, and leads him to hate and reject all those, who love him merely for a supposed partial affection towards them, and they would lose all their love and feel a bitter enmity against his whole character. This is demonstrated by the conduct of the Israelites, who sang God's praises at the Red Sea, but murmured, and rebelled, and died in the wilderness; and by those multitudes, who cried hosanna to Christ, but afterwards cried crucify him, and finally embrued their hands in his blood. A just view of God's goodness must necessarily destroy all those religious affections, which flow from a false view of it.

9. If the glory of God consists in his goodness; then we learn, why sinners are represented as blind to his glory. The Scripture speaks much of the moral blindness of sinners, and represents them as incapable of seeing the moral beauty of the divine character. Our Savior frequently offended the Pharisees, by calling them blind. Paul says, "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them,

because they are spiritually discerned." The Apostle John says, "He that loveth not, knoweth not God, for God is love." Those who are entirely under the influence of a selfish heart, cannot know how an infinitely benevolent being feels. Though they may have a speculative knowledge of disinterested love, and discern an essential difference between selfishness and benevolence; yet they have no experimental knowledge of the supreme beauty and glory of the Deity. They must feel as he does, in order to have a moral view of his moral excellence

10. If God's glory essentially consists in his goodness; then those, who have seen his real glory in the least degree, will desire to see more and more of it. This appears from the nature of spiritual discoveries, which afford peculiar satisfaction to those, to whom they are made. Moses had seen the moral beauty of the divine character, and this led him to desire a more full and perfect discovery of it. "I beseech thee, shew me thy glory." David had seen the glory of God, and his partial views of it led him to desire larger and clearer views of his moral beauty. "One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord." Those, who possess the least degree of grace, and have had the least view of the moral excellence of the Deity, heartily desire to see all the glory of God displayed, in all the manifestations of his goodness. They are not afraid of seeing his power, nor his wisdom, nor his sovereignty, nor his justice, nor his grace, too fully discovered, because they know that all his perfections are under the influence of that perfect benevolence, which they love. They are not afraid of looking into futurity, and sending their thoughts into the regions