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God's displeasure, and the sinner for sin's sake. With whom was he displeased, but with them that sinned? I need not set up my candle in the sun of this truth; I wish it were as seriously considered practically, as it is confessed notionally. Every revelation of God by his word, and many of his awful works, bear witness to it; and every one hath that witness in himself, as will not admit him to doubt of it. The nature of God, his law, the light of conscience, and the universal sense of judgment, at present fixed, and certainly future, testify to it: and doubtless great is the power of sin, and the craft of Satan, which prevail with most to continue in sin, notwithstanding this uncontrolable conviction.' To this we may add, public sins, sins in societies are a great provocation to God. It was not for their private and personal sins that he was thus provoked with his ancient people, but for their conspiracy, as it were in sin. The reasons of this are manifest, and therefore I shall not insist upon them. God helps cities and nations, especially such as hear the voice of God, well to consider it; and all of us to take heed of national prevailing sins!

§14. Obs. 5. God sometimes will make men who have been exemplary wicked in sin, righteously exemplary in their punishment. They sinned, saith the apostle, and provoked God, and their carcasses fell in the wilderness. To what end is this reported? It is that we might take heed, 'that we fall not after the same example of unbelief,' chap. iv, 11. There is an example in unbelief, and there is an example in the fall and punishment of unbelievers; and oftentimes judgments have had in them a direct testimony against, and discovery of the nature of the sins revenged by those judgments. Our Savior, indeed, hath taught us, that we are not to fix particular demerits and sins, by our

own surmises, on persons that may be overtaken with dismal providences in the world, merely because they were so overtaken; such was the condition of the Galileans, whose blood Pilate mingled with their sacrifices; and the eighteen upon whom the tower of Siloam fell and slew them; of whom he denies, that from what befell them, we have any ground to judge them to have been greater sinners than others, Luke xiii, 3-5. In such cases, this only may be concluded; that such persons were sinners, as all are, and therefore were righteously obnoxious at any time to any severe judgment of God; and the reason of God's singling them out in such a manner, is that mentioned in the same place by our Savior: to declare to others, in the like condition with themselves, that 'unless they repent, they shall all likewise perish.'

§15. If we investigate these reasons a little more particularly, we shall find that God will do thus, to bear witness to his own holiness and severity. In the ordinary course of providence, God gives constant testimony to his own goodness and patience; 'he causeth his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust,' Matt. v, 45. He will sometimes rise up to his work; his strange work; his act, his strange act, Isa. xxviii, 21; that is, to execute great and fearful present judgments on sinners, which, though it be a 'strange work,' seldom coming to pass, yet it is 'his work,' a work that becomes him, and whereby he will manifest his holiness and severity. He reveals his judgments from heaven against the ungodliness of men, Rom. i, 18. And this he sometimes doth by exemplary punishment on exemplary sinners.

2. God doth this to check and control the atheism that is in the hearts of men. Many whilst they see wicked men, especially open and profligate sinners

prospering in a constant course, are ready to say in their hearts, "There is no God,' or that he hath forsaken the earth; or Mal. ii, 17, "Where is the God of judgment?" And this encourageth men in their wickedness, as the wise man expressly tells us, "Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil," Eccles. viii, 11. The consideration hereof makes them cast off all regard of God and to pursue the lusts of their hearts according to the power of their hand. To stay men in this course, God sometimes hurls a thunder-bolt amongst them; casts out an amazing judgment, in a way of vengeance on some notable transgressors; and were it not that God did sometimes awe the world with "his strange works" of vengeance, which he executes at his pleasure, so that great sinners can never be secure one moment from them, it is to be feared that atheism that is in the hearts of men would bring them every where to the condition of things before the flood, when "the whole earth was filled with violence, and all flesh had corrupted its way."

3. God will do thus for the encouragement of them who bear witness to himself in the world, against the wickedness of men. The principal work of the servants of God in the world is to bear witness to God; his being, his holiness, his righteousness, his goodness, his hatred of sin: for this cause are they for the most part mocked, despised, and persecuted in the world. So saith our apostle; 'for therefore we both labor, and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God;' 1 Tim. iv, 10. And sometimes they are ready to faint in their trials. It is to them like a sword in their bones, while their enemies say unto them, "Where is your God?" Psal. xlii, 10. They have indeed a sure word of promise to trust to and to rest upon; and that

which is able to carry them safely and quietly through all temptations and oppositions; but yet God is pleased sometimes to relieve and refresh their spirits by confirming their testimony from heaven, bearing witness to himself and his holiness, by his visible tremendous judgments upon openly notorious provokers, and the mouth of iniquity shall, at least for a season, be stopped. The manifest use of such a dispensation is what Hannah proposeth, 1 Sam. ii, 3. "Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let no arrogance come out of your mouth; for the Lord is a God of knowledge; and by him, actions are weighed.' Let men take heed how they arrogantly boast themselves in their sin and wickedness, which is too common with provoking sinners; for God is a God of knowledge and judgment. If they regard not the "judgment to come," but put the evil day from them, yet let them take heed lest God single them out to some distinguished vengeance in this world, to make them examples unto others.

§16. Obs. 6. Great destructions by way of judg ment and vengeance are instituted representations of the judgment and vengeance to come. I dare not say with the Jews, "that all this provoking generation perished eternally, and that none of them shall have a blessed lot or portion in the world to come." They might repent of their sins and provocations; the oath of God was to their temporal punishment, not to spiritual impenitency. There is a repentance which may prevail for the removal, or at least the deferring, of a temporal judgment denounced, if not confirmed by oath; which yet is not prevalent to free the sinner from eternal ruin; and there is a repentance and humiliation that may free the soul from eternal ruin, and yet not take off a temporal judgment threatened against it. But yet this must be acknowledged, that their

punishment was a great representation of the future judgment; wherein unbelievers shall be cast off for ever: for, as they fell visibly under the wrath and displeasure of God and their carcasses were cast out in the wilderness as a loathsome abomination, so their judgment overtook them under this formal consideration that they were excluded out of the rest of God. And these things together give an evident resemblance of the judgment to come; when sinners shall perish eternally under the wrath of God, and be for ever excluded out of his rest.

§17. Obs. 7. All unbelief is accompanied with contumacy and rebellion. When the object to be believed is sufficiently proposed and made known to any person, which it renders it his duty actually to believe, especially when it is proposed in the way and manner prescribed by God in the gospel, that is, with the highest reason, motives, and persuasive inducements conceivable; if such a person mix not the word spoken. with faith, his unbelief is ruinous to his soul; and that because it hath contumacy and rebellion accompanying it. If among the arguments used to prevail with the mind, that of supreme authority be one, then rebellion is added to disobedience and stubbornness. The gospel makes it appear that its commands and exhortations to believe are the most reasonable in themselves and most reasonably to be accepted by sinners; and that on all accounts of reason whatever. As for instance; upon the account of divine righteousness, that requireth faith or belief of men; on account of necessity, on the part of them who are required to believe; on account of the goodness, grace, and condescension, that is, in the proposed object of faith, and the command of believers; for the things themselves are excellent and precious, and our advantages by an interest in

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