his Sins, this fhews, how neceffary the Denouncing and how neceffary the Belief of eternal Punishments is. Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked fervant: Thou knewest that I was an auftere man, wherefore then didst thou not do as thou waft commanded?

4. It is neceffary that eternal Punishments fhould be inflicted upon the Wicked according to the Sanction of the Divine Laws by eternal Rewards and Punishments. We find by fad Experience, how little effect the Punishments now threatned have upon too many Men, and if they were lefs dreadful they would be fo much the lefs regarded. So that it appears, that the Appointment of eternal Punishments was but neceffary to keep Men from Sin, and what God's Wifdom faw necessary to appoint, his Juftice and Truth will make it neceffary for him to inflict: For what he has fo often and fo folemnly declared, he can never depart from, but will certainly execute it.

The Promises and Threatnings relating to Men in this Life are conditional, and are exprefly declar'd to be fo, Jer. xviii. 7, 8, 9, 10. Ezek. xxxiii. 13. because in this Life Men are changeable from Good to Bad, or from Bad to Good; but the Threatnings as well as the Promises concerning Men in the other Life must be abfolute and unconditional, because they relate to an unchangeable final ftate, which will admit of no Alteration either in the Wicked or in the Righteous. It is not therefore becaufe God can recede from his Threatnings rather than from his Promises, that Nineveh was fpar'd; but because all Threatnings during the state of this Life imply a condition of Repentance, upon which they are not to be inflicted, as Jonah and the Ninevites themselves well understood; but then all Promises too, which concern Men in this Life are under the like condition, and are not to be perform'd upon the Disobedience of those, to whom they are made, as we are affured by God's exprefs Declarati

on,

on.

But what is threatned or promis'd to Men to befal them after this Life, is promis'd or threatned to befal them, when, they fhall be in a fixt unalterable state, and therefore must be uncapable of any Condition or Reserve to be imply'd in it. For when Men continue the fame they were at the time when God's Promises and Threatnings were declared to them, his Promises and Threatnings always take place in this World according to the full Extent and Importance of the Words in which they were deliver'd; and therefore they must thus take place in the next World, into which when Men are once entred, they must for ever continue equally fit Objects either of the Divine Promises or Threatnings, as they were at the time of their Death. The Point is, that God never changes, but Men are changeable in this Life; and both his Promises and Threatnings, which concern Men here, fuppose them fuch, and therefore Rewards are withheld, or Punishments remitted in this World, as Men fall into Wickednefs, or become reclaim'd from it. But in the other World, where the state of Men is unalterable from good or bad, vertuous or vicious, both the Promises and Threatnings of God must be punctually fulfill'd, and can admit of no condition or reservation.

God has fworn, that those who will not believe and obey him, fhall not enter into his reft, Heb. iii. 18. and what he has once fworn is irrevocable, Heb. vi. 17. If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful, he cannot deny himself, 2 Tim. ii. 13. And it is not only threatned that the Wicked fhall fuffer eternal Punishment, but it is likewife exprefly foretold, that the Wicked fhall be fentenced to everlafting fire at the Day of Judgment, and that they shall go away into everlasting Punishment Matt. XXV. 41, 46. To leave no room for hopes of any End or Abatement of the Punishment, we have our Saviour's express Declaration, that the Sentence fhall be paft according to the Threatning, and that the everlasting Punishment which is threatned, shall

be

be certainly executed upon the wicked. Our Judge has beforehand declared what Sentence he will pafs, and that it shall be accordingly executed; the Terms whereof are therefore as unalterable, as if it were already pronounc'd. He has declared, that the Punishments of the wicked, as well as the Rewards of the righteous fhall be eternal, as directly and positively as he has faid any thing else relating to the laft Judgment, or concerning any other part of his Gospel and we have as little Reason to imagine that his exprefs and repeated Affirmation is capable of a referv'd Meaning in this particular, as in any other matter whatsoever.

Some of the Benefits and Advantages which are confequent to the Punishments of this World are preçedent to those of the next: Here Men are punish'd for their own Amendment, or for the Advantage and Security of others, or for both: In the next World the actual inflicting of Punishments is not for thefe ends but they were threatned for these, and they must be inflicted when they have been once threatned and declared by God, who cannot lie. It is for the Repentance of Sinners, and for the Benefit of Good Men in preferving them in the ways of Vertue, and fecuring them from the Pride and Malice of the Wicked, that Hell fhould be threatned; but because it is the final and eternal state of the Wicked, it cannot be for their Amendment after the Execution of its Torments upon them, and Good Men being once out of the Power of Temptations, and placed beyond the Malice of the Wicked, can no longer have any Protection or Advantage from the Punishments denounced against impenitent Sinners; but whether the Advantages arising from Punishments be before or after the inflicting of Punishments, there is the fame neceffity for the appointing, and confequently for the inflicting them viz. the Good of Mankind in keeping Men from Sin and leaving thofe without excufe who will not be re

ftrained

ftrained from it, and work out their own Salvation. But another end of Punishment is, that Satisfaction for the violation of the Laws may be made to the fupreme Authority which is defpifed and affronted by it: And the vindication of God's Honour and Authority, and of his Truth and Holiness in his hatred and deteftation of Sin, and his indignation against Sinners, is manifested by the actual Punishments of the Damned; and it would be an Argument of the contrary to all this, if they were threatned and not inflicted.

And the Number of Perfons to be thus punished doth not alter the cafe, but only fhews that many are concerned in it; and if the cafe be the fame, the Justice must be the fame too, tho' the Perfons be never so many upon whom it is executed. That which is juft towards one, or merciful towards one, is just or merciful towards never fo many thousands. For Justice, and Mercy confift in the nature of things, not in the greater or leffer number of Perfons to whom they are extended. And tho' multitudes of Criminals are apt to move compaffion in Men; yet this proceeds partly from the fympathy and frailty of humane Nature, which is mightily fwayed by Number and Multitude to do either Good or Evil; partly from the nature of humane Affairs: For to destroy Multitudes, would depopulate Cities and Countries, and would be an affliction to multitudes of innocent Perfons, their Friends and Relations. But it is not fo in the prefent cafe; there will be no want of Numbers in Heaven, and the Righteous fhall be everlastingly happy, and fhall perceive no diminution of their Happiness by reafon of the Damnation of fuch as were never fo dear to them in this World. And Mercy and Pity is not a Paffion in God as it is in Men, but a Perfection, it is the highest Reason and Equity; and therefore, tho' the Mifery of Sinners be never fo fevere, and the number of the Miferable never fo great; yet whenthe equity and reasonableness of the cafe doth not re

quire it, there is nothing to move God for their relief, because he acts by the standing Rules of Reafon and Wisdom, not by any fondnefs and weakness of Passion.

II. I come now to fhew, how confiftent it is with the Mercy of God to inflict eternal Torments upon Sinners. Strict Justice has a severe Afpect, and it may feem hard for frail Man to abide the Sentence, that he may in ftrictness of Juftice deferve. But from the Juftice of God, it is natural for us to appeal to his Mercy, and thither he allows us to appeal, but not fo, as to expect that he should be fo merciful as not to be juft, or should forget that he is the fupreme Governour of the World, whilft he extends his Mercy to the offending and criminal part of it. Punishment is necessary to all Government, and God as Governour of the World muft inflict Punishments, and what these are to be, it belongs to his fovereign Wifdom to appoint.

And eternal Torments were appointed for the punishment of Sin, not only out of a very juft, but even out of a gracious defign, because nothing lefs than the threatnings of them would keep Men from Sin, and from that Mifery which is the unavoidable confequence of it, and fo bring them to Heaven. It is an ancient and true Obfervation which St. Chryfoftom has made, that there is Mercy even in the Threats of eternal Vengeance, because nothing lefs could have brought many Men to Heaven. For there is no doubt to be made, but many will be there, who shall have caufe to thank God for this, as the thing which firft opened their Eyes, and moved them to Repentance, and thereby brought them to Blifs and Glory. And the fame Mercy was extended to thofe that perish, and would not make the fame use of it, which if they had done they had never perished: Tho' Heaven and Hell, says

Chryf. ad Stagir. lib. 1. Tom. 6. Sav. Edit.

St. Chry