bad temper of mind. But to forget and slight God, the infinitely great and glorious God, the glory of heaven, the joy of angels and saints-this is infinitely wicked.

GOD is infinitely glorious and excellent in himself, as being what he is, antecedent to any consideration of what he has done, or intends to do for us. Holy men, such as Moses, David, and Paul, are excellent and amiable, in being what they are, in having such a holy temper of mind. Angels and saints in heaven are still more excellent, on the same account. But God is the original infinite fountain of all perfection and excellency: In a word, he is by nature GOD. Hence, from being conscious to his own divinity, from seeing himself what he is, he takes state to himself, asserts his exalted character, as he whose name alone is JEHOVAH, the living and true God, saying, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no other God. Isai. xlv. 5. It would be infinite wickedness for an angel to set up himself for God: but this conduct is infinitely right, and fit, and beautiful in him, who is by nature God. And on this ground he commands all the world to fear, love, and adore him: and he esteems the wretch who does not do so with all his beart, worthy of everlasting damnation. Infinite goodness itself accounts the eternal torments of hell a punishment but just equal to the crime. How often does he say, in the five books of Moses, O Israel, thou shalt do thus and thus, FOR I AM THE LORD? Nearly twenty times is this repeated in one chapter, (Lev. 19.) thus and thus shall ye do, FOR I AM THE LORD. This is the first thing mentioned in the ten commandments, Exod. xx. Iam the LORD THY GOD, &c. which teaches us, that because he is the Lord, &c. therefore we are bound to keep all his commandments. And as our Saviour expresseth it in Matt. xxii. 37. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart. His being the Lord, his being by nature God, his being what he is in himself, is the grand and primary foundation of his infinite amiableness this ought therefore to be the grand and primary foundation of our love to him. And from hence we are under infinite obligations to love him with all our hearts, always to remember him, to live under a sense of his being and perfections, to be divorced from all other things, to

choose him as our ALL, and seek his glory as our last end. And it is infinitely wrong not to do so.

We are under many obligations from self-love to remember God, to love him, and be devoted to him; for he is our Creator, Preserver, and great Benefactor. And besides, to love him with all our hearts, and seek his glory in all we do, is the most delightful thing on earth; it is a pleasure, near akin to heaven.

But antecedent to those, and to all other selfish considerations whatsoever, there is an infinite obligation lying upon us to love him with all our hears, to remember him, to cleave to him, and so seek his glory, resulting from his being what he is in himself, his being by nature God, the original infinite fountain of all moral good and moral excellency. Whence to forget him is infinitely wrong, and so justly deserves an infinite punishment.

If we were under no obligation but what results from selflove, then the great and the only evil of sin would consist in its being contrary to our own interest and happiness ; for there is no evil in sin but what results from our obligations to do otherwise. And if our happiness was all that obliged us to virtue, then there could be no other evil in vice, but its natural tendency to make us miserable; that is, there would be no evil in sin, as it is against God and contrary to the reason and nature of things; but only and merely as it is against us, and contrary to our own interest. And hence sinners could be considered by the great Governor of the world as being to blame, in no other respect, or upon no other account, than merely as doing what wrongs themselves, and is contrary to their own interest. So much as they hurt their own interest, so much therefore would they be to blame, and no more; they would be blameable merely for that, and upon no other account. But it is certain, that God thinks them infinitely to blame over and above all that, or else he would never inflict an infinite punishment upon them, over and above all the misery which necessarily results from the nature of vice. If there were no evil in sin, but as it is against us, and not as it is against God, there would be no room nor just ground for his everlasting wrath, and for the lake of fire

and brimstone, which he has threatened to the wicked; for no crime deserves to be punished, but only in proportion to. its blame-worthiness. But upon this hypothesis, sin is blameworthy, merely because of its natural tendency to make us miserable: and therefore, in this view of the case, sin can deserve no other punishment, but merely that misery, which necessarily results from its own nature. No inflicted misery,

i. e. no proper punishment, is at all deserved.

But God thinks, that the least sin deserves everlasting damnation; even the least defect in our love, the lest unmindfulness of God.-And why? Because, being conscious to his own nature and infinite excellency, he knows that his intelligent creatures are under infinite obligations thence arising, antecedent to any consideration else whatsoever, to love him with all their hearts, to remember him, to have a constant sense of him on their spirits, so as to be divorced from all other things, and be entirely devoted to him2.

a If there is an infinite moral excellency in the divine nature, upon the account of which he is infinitely amiable, and so we under infinite obligations to love him with all our hearts, antecedent to all selfish considerations; then not to love him with all our hearts is an infinite evil, and so deserves an infinite punishment. And upon this ground the eternity of hell torments may be accounted for. But if there is no such excellency in the divine nature; and if all our obligations to love and obey him result merely from self-love, then I think the above argument conclusive, nor can I see how the eternity of hell torments can possibly be accounted for.

Learned men, who leave this excellency of the divine nature out of their idea of God, seem to have been aware of this difficulty, and they have laboured to solve it; but all in vain.

Some consider God as the sovereign Lord of life and death, vested with all power and authority. And they say, things are right merely because he wills to have them so. But I answer, it is impossible that he should will the everlasting damnation of sinners, if they do not deserve it. Because that would be to act counter to his own nature. See Gen. xviii. 25.

Some consider God as aiming at the general good of the whole system of intelligent creatures, as his last end. And they say, that it is for the general good of the whole, that the wicked should be everlastingly tormented in hell; because such severity will tend to confirm the rest in everlasting obedience. But I answer, if the wicked do not in justice deserve the eternal torments of hell, their being so treated will rather tend to dishonour God in the eyes of all the angels and saints in heaven, and tempt them to cast off their allegiance to him, to flee from his presence, and conceive a hatred of him, just as we naturally detest a merciless and cruel tyrant. And besides, God, who has forbid us to do evil that good may come, most ertainly will not do this himself.

I have insisted upon this the longer, because many seem to leave this moral excellency of the divine nature out of their idea of God; and consider him only as the author of their happiness, as one disposed to exert his infinite wisdom and almighty power to promote their best good, and only as such do they love him: and so all their love to God is nothing but self-love, in another shape. And consequently, all their religion is vain, a mere selfish thing; a religion that God never meant, that the law never required, and that the Gospel never taught.

We will suppose, there is a man, who formerly was greatly awakened, and trembled for fear of divine wrath; but since then, he has had his heart full of love to God and Christ, and now doubts not he is going to heaven. But whence did this man's love to God and Christ first take its rise? Why, he had it discovered to him, (as he thought,) by the Spirit of God,

Again, some seem to suppose, that there will be no proper punishment inflicted upon the damned in hell; that they will have no other torment but what necessarily results from the nature of vice; that they will be a torment to themselves, but shall have no additional punishment. But, I answer, this notion is directly contrary to all the New Testament, which every where sets the case in a very different light. Everlasting punishment, the damnation of hell, a lake of fire and brimstone, the indignation and wrath of God, &c. are constantly threatened to the wicked. And particularly, God is said to show his wrath and make his power known in their destruction. Rom. ix. 22. All which phrases evidently denote a proper inflicted punishment.

Others have taken another course, and have ventured even to deny the eternity of hell torments. But they may as reasonably, and had as good, deny the Scriptures to be the word of God. For nothing can be more plainly and fully asserted. Their worm shall not die, their fire shall never be quenched, the smoke of their torments shall ascend for ever and ever, &c. &c. without the least hint, that such phrases are not to be understood in their most natural sense, as denoting the infinite duration of their punishment.

So that the eternity of hell-torments cannot be denied; nor can this be accounted for upon the hypothesis, That all our obligations to love and obey God result merely from self-love. And yet if the moral excellency of the divine nature be granted, and our infinite obligations, thence arising, to love him with all our hearts, antecedent to any selfish consideration, then surely the Arminian and Antinomian schemes of religion must both be false. For upon the principles of either of these schemes, all religion results merely from self-love; nor do they seem to have any just notion of the moral excellency of the divine nature, or of our infinite obligations to love and obedience thence arising. If the reader desires to see more upon this subject, let him read Mr. EDWARDS upon Religious Affections, from page 134 to page 182.

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that his sins were pardoned, or that he was elected, or that Christ died for him, or that God loved him, or that Christ loved him, and he was assured of eternal life. And so he was filled full of love, and rapturous joy just as the graceless Israelites were filled at the side of the Red sea, when they saw Pharaoh and his army drowned, and themselves delivered. And now this man admires God, and magnifies Christ; but still all is, at bottom, merely from self-love. There is no more true grace in his heart now, than there was before. And when such an one comes to find out, after death, what God is, and how he always looked upon him, and when he hears that sentence, Depart from me, I never knew you, he will then find his love turn into hatred; will hate God with all his heart, and blaspheme his name for ever. Such an one does not love God at all, for what he is in himself, or on the account of that in which his infinite amiableness truly consists but false apprehensions of God are the ground of his love. He only loves a false image of God, formed in his own fancy. But as for JEHOVAH, the God of Israel, the man neither knows nor cares for him. See 2 Cor. xi. 14. Matth. xiii. 25. 39.

And there is another man, we will suppose, who is a great enemy to all spiritual experiences; but who, as he thinks, loves God sincerely, yea, has always loved God, and imagines it is in a measure natural to him to love God. But why does he love God? and what a God is it that he loves? Truly, it is the God that loves him, and loves all mankind, and is heartily engaged to make all his creatures happy, as his ultimate end. And who, (says he,) can help loving so good and kind a Being? And besides, if I go on to love him as well as ever I can, he has assured me of his final favour and eternal life. And thus, he also having framed a god in his own imagination, to suit his humour, he now idolizes the image which he has set up. no just notion of the infinite holiness, and justice of the divine nature, and his infinite excellency on that account; but fancies within himself a God all made up of mere goodness and love and it is natural to him to love such a kind and benevolent Being; self-love prompts him to it. Only false ap

This man seems to have