under the notion of a reward, discovers this temper of his heart; his in nite love to right.

As to all his positive injunctions, they are evidently designed to promote a conformity to the moral law. And as to the moral law, it is originally founded upon the very reason and nature of things. The duties required therein, are required originally, because they are right in themselves. And the sins forbidden, are forbidden originally, because they are unfit and wrong in themselves. The intrinsic fitness of the things required, and the intrinsic unfitness of the things forbidden, was the original ground, reason and foundation of his law. Thus, he bids all the world love him with all their hearts, because he is the Lord their God; and love one another as brethren, because they are all children of the same common father, having the same nature. He requires this supreme love to himself, and this mutual love among his subjects, because it is right that so it should be; and because he perfectly loves that the thing that is right should be done : and not from any advantage that can possibly accrue unto him from the behaviour of his creatures. And he forbids the contrary, because it is wrong, and therefore infinitely hateful in his sight; and not because it could be any disadvantage to him. All the glory and blessedness which he bestows upon the angels in heaven, under the notion of a reward to their obedience, is not because their obedience does him any good, for it does not; nor because they deserve any thing from his hands, for they do not: (Rom. xi. 35, 36.) but merely because it is right that they should in all things obey him. This is what he loves, and what he delights to honour. And all the infinite, eternal glories of heaven can but just serve as a sufficient testimony of his approbation. So, on the other hand, it was not in a passion, or from sudden rash revenge, (which many times influences sinful men to cruel and barbarous deeds,) that he turned those that sinned down to hell; and, for their first offence, doomed them to everlasting wo, without the least hope; for there is no such thing in his nature. As he is not capable of being injured, as we are, so neither is he capable of such anger as we feel. No: the thing they did was in itself infinitely wrong, and that was the

true and only cause of his infinite displeasure; which infinite displeasure he meant to declare and make known in the sight of all worlds, throughout the endless ages of eternity, by rendering to them according to their deserts: for he loves to appear as great an enemy to sin in his conduct, as he is in his heart. He loves to act out his heart, and exhibit a true image of himself. His infinite love of righteousness, and hatred of iniquity, is also displayed in his promising eternal life and blessedness to Adam and to all his race, a whole world of beings, as a reward to the obedience of Adam-by him constituted public head and representative, on the one hand; and threatening eternal destruction to him and all his race, a whole world of beings, in case of the least transgression, on the other hand. But his infinite love to righteousness, and hatred of iniquity, is manifested in the greatest perfection, in the death of Jesus Christ, his only-begotten son: But of this more afterwards. In a word, all the blessings which he has granted to the godly in this world as rewards of their virtue; to Abel, Enoch and Noah, to Lot, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, &c. and all the judgments which he has executed upon the wicked; his turning Adam out of paradise; drowning the old world; burning Sodom, &c. together with all the evils which befell the children of Israel, in the wilderness; in the time of the judges; in the reigns of their kings; and their long captivity in Babylon, &c. have all been public testimonies that the righteous Lord loveth righteousness, and hateth iniquity. And, in heaven and in hell, he designs to display, to all eternity, in the most glorious and dreadful manner, how infinitely he loves righteousness and hates iniquity.

Now when true believers, who are divinely enlightened, meditate on and view the laws, the conduct, and the declared designs of the great Governor of the world, they love, admire, and adore, and say, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts, the whole world is full of thy glory. This divine disposition, to love righteousness and hate iniquity, which the great Governor of the world thus discovers in all his government, appears infinitely beautiful and glorious, excellent, and amiable in their eyes: Whence they are ready to say, Who is like unto

thee, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like unto thee, glorious in holiness, &c. As they do in Exod. xv. 11*.

* If we should suppose, (as some do,) that there is nothing right or wrong antecedent to a consideration of the positive will and law of God, the great governor of the world; and that right and wrong result, originally, from his sovereign will and absolute authority entirely, then these absurdities would unavoidably follow :

1. That the moral perfections of God are empty names, without any signifi cation at all. For if there be no intrinsic moral fitness and unfitness in things, no right nor wrong, then there is no such thing as moral beauty or moral deformity; and so, no foundation, in the nature of things, for any moral propensity; i. e. there is nothing for God to love or hate, considered ́as a moral agent. There can be no inclination or disposition in him to love right and hate wrong, if there be no such thing as right or wrong. So that the only idea we could frame of God, would be that of an almighty despotic sovereign, who makes his own will his only rule, without any regard to right or wrong, good or evil, just or unjust; an idea of the infinitely glorious and ever-blessed God, evidently as contrary to truth as can be devised.

2. That, in the nature of things, there is no moré reason to love and obey God than there is to hate and disobey him : there being, in the nature of things, no right nor wrong. Just as if God was not infinitely worthy of our highest esteem and most perfect obedience! and just as if, in the nature of things, there was no reason why we should love and obey him, but merely because he is the greatest and strongest, and says we must! than which nothing can be more evidently absurd. But if these things are so, then it will follow,

3. That there is no reason why he should require his creatures to love and obey him, or forbid the contrary; or why he should reward the one, or punish the other there being, in the nature of things, no right nor wrong: and so the foundation of God's law and government is overturned, and all religion torn up by the roots; and nothing is left but arbitrary tyranny and servile subjection; all expressly contrary to Gen. xviii. 25. Heb. i. 9. Eph. vi. 1 Rom. xii. 1. Rev. iv. 11. Rom. vii. 12. Rom. ii. 4, 5, 6. Rev. xix. 1, 6. Ezek. xviii. 25.

Or again, if we should suppose, (as others do,) that there is nothing right or wrong antecedent to a consideration of the general good of the whole system of intelligent created beings; and that right and wrong result originally and entirely, from the natural tendency of things to promote, or hinder the general good of the whole: then also, these manifest absurdities will unavoidably follow :

1. That the moral perfections of God entirely consist in, or result from, a disposition to love his creatures supremely, and seek their happiness as his only end: just as if it became the most high to make a God of his creatures, and himself their servant! expressly contrary to Rom. xi. 36. Numb. xiv. Rev. iv. 11.

((5.) His impartial justice is also discovered in his moral government of the world. He appears, in his public conduct, as one infinitely engaged to give every one his due, and as one absolutely governed by a spirit of the most perfectly disinterested impartiality: He appears as one infinitely engaged to maintain the rights of the Gadhead, and to secure that glory to the divine Being that is his proper due; and that by the law which he has established, in heaven and on earth, 'binding all to love, worship, and obey him, as GoD, upon pain of eternal damnation: And so, again, he appears as one infinitely engaged to secure all his subjects here upon earth in a quiet and peaceable possession of their own proper rights; and that by strictly enjoining every one to love his neighbour as himself, and always do as he would be done by, and that upon pain of eternal damnation. Gal. iii. 10. Deut. xxvii. 26. And he appears as one governed by a spirit of the most perfectly disinterested impartiality, in that he spared not the angels that sin

2. That God loves virtue and rewards it, merely because it tends to make his creatures happy; and hates vice and punishes it, merely because it tends to make his creatures miserable: just as if he had no regard to the rights of the Godhead, nor cared how much contempt was cast upon the glorious majes ty of Heaven! expressly contrary to Exod. xxxii. Numb. xiv. 1 Sam. ii. 29, 30. 2 Sam. xii. 10. 14. Psalm li. 4.

3. That he requires us lo love and obey him, merely because it tends to make us happy, and forbids the contrary merely because it tends to make us miserable : just as if he had no sense of the infinite glory and excellency of his nature, and our infinite obligations to love and obey him thence arising! and just as if he thought it no crime in us, to treat him with the greatest contempt ! and just as if nothing could raise his resentment but merely the injury done to ourselves! expressly contrary to Numb. xiv. 2 Sam. xii. 10. 14, &c.

4. That we are under no obligations to love God, but merely because it tends to make us happy; and that it is no crime to hate and blaspheme God, but merely because it tends to make us miserable. But if so, then the misery which naturally results from hating and blaspheming God, is exactly equal to the crime; and therefore no positive inflicted punishment is deserved in this world, or in that which is to come. And, therefore, all the punishments which God inflicts upon sinners in this world, and for ever in Hell, are entirely undeserved: and so his law and government, instead of being holy, just, and good, are infinitely unreasonable, tyrannical and cruel.——— To say, that God punishes some of his sinful creatures, merely to keep others in awe, when as they do not, in the least, deserve any punishment, is

ned, who were some of the noblest of all his creatures; and in that he is determined not to spare-impenitent sinners,at the day of, judgment, though they cry ever so earnestly for mercy; but, above all, in that he spared not his only-begotten Son, when he stood in the room of sinners. If ever any poor, guilty, wretch, round the world,, feels tempted to think that God is, cruel for damning sinners, and does not do as he would be done by, if he was in their case, and they, in his, let him come away to the cross of Christ, and see God's own Son, his second self, there nailed up, naked, bleeding, groaning, dying,, in the greatest possible contempt, ignominy, and shame, before ten thousand insulting, blood-thirsty spectators; and let him know that this Jesus is GOD;. a person of infinitely greater dignity and worth than all creatures in heaven and earth put together, and infinitely dearer to the great Governor of the world, even just as dear as his own self, and upon whom he would not lay these sufferings any sooner than upon himself; I say, let him stand, and look, and gaze, and learn that God

to suppose the great Governor of the world to do evil, that good may come : and yet, at the same time, to take the most direct course to render himself odious throughout all his dominions. It is impossible to account for the punishments which God has inflicted upon sinners in this world, and designs to inflict upon them for ever in hell, without supposing that there is an infinite evil in sin, over and above what results from its natural tendency to make us miserable: and that, therefore, we are under infinite obligations to love and obey God, antecedent to any consideration of its tendency to make us happy

From all which, it is evident, to demonstration, that right and wrong do neither result from the mere will and law of God, nor from any tendency of things to promote or hinder the happiness of God's creatures. It remains, therefore, that there is an intrinsic moral fitness and unfitness, absolutely in things themselves: as that we should love the infinitely glorious God, is, in the nature of things, infinitely fit and right: and to hate and blaspheme him, is, in the nature of things, infinitely unfit and wrong: and that, antecedent to any consideration of advantage or disadvantage, reward or punishment, or even of the will or law of God. And hence it is that God infinitely loves right, and hates wrong, and appears so infinitely engaged, to reward the one and punish the other. And hence, his law and government are holy, just, and good-they are glorious; and in and by them the infinite glory of the divine nature shines forth. Isa. vi. 3. Rev. iv. 8. Rev. xix. 1-6.