SERM. itself. The alleging in this manner the XVI. Power of God, to the deftroying our mo

ral Notion of Juice, is like alleging the fame Power, in the cafe of Tranfubftantiation, to the destroying the natural Truth of Things. The Effect of Both, is the confounding the whole Nature of Truth and Falfehood, of Right and Wrong; and making every thing to be unintelligible and without Meaning. One fenfe indeed there is, in which Supreme Power may be faid to be the Foundation of Justice: And That is, because fuch Power fets the Perfon, who poffeffes it, above all poffibility of being tempted, or compelled by any Fraud, or by any Force, to do an unjust thing. And in This fenfe, the Argument feems to be used by Eliku, in the Text; Job xxxiv. 10. Far be it from God, (from Him who is Supreme over All,) that He fhould do Wickedness; and from the Almighty, (from him who has Power over All,) that he should commit iniquity. And by the Author of the Book of Wisdom, very elegantly; ch. xii. ver. 12, 15, 16, 18, Who shall fay, what haft Thou done?

or Who shall accufe Thee for the Nations that perife, whom thou hast made? or

Who

Who shall come to ftand against thee, to SER M. be revenged for the unrighteous men? For, XVI. feeing thou art righteous thyself, thou ordereft all things righteously; thinking it not agreeable with thy Power, to condemn him that hath not deferved to be punished: For thy Power is the beginning of Righteoufness; and, because thou art Lord of All, it maketh thee to be gracious unto all. For Thou, maftering thy Power, judgest with equity, and ordereft us with great favour; for Thou mayeft ufe Power when thou wilt. In This fenfe, I fay, Power may be affirmed indeed to be the foundation of Juftice; as fetting the Perfon who is poffeffed of it, far above all temptation of doing wrong. But in any other fenfe; to make Power, the Measure of Justice; and to imagine that Juftice in God, is not the fame thing as Juftice among Men, but fomething tranfcendent, and we know not what; is in reality fubverting the Nature of Things, taking away the intrinfick difference between Good and Evil, and overturning the ground of all Religion. For, tho' the Effence of God, which it is not our business to understand, is really incomprehenfible; as indeed are the

Effences,

SERM. Effences of all other things; yet the Noti XVI. on of his moral Attributes must be eafy

and familiar; and, if we could not underftand Thefe, the whole Doctrine of the Gospel would be infignificant to us. For, all Revelation from God, fuppofeth us to know beforehand what is meant by Justice; Goodnefs, and the like. So that no man can reasonably entertain any Notion of God, contradictory to Thefe, upon any pretence whatsoever. And 'tis very abfurd for any one to pretend, that we cannot understand what Justice in God is. For if we understand not This, 'tis all one to us whether God be just or not. Neither would it be poffible for us, to imitate his Juftice: For he who imitates, endeavours to be Like fomething that he Knows; and muft of neceffity underftand, what 'tis he aims to be like. So that if we had no certain and fettled Notion of the Juftice, and other Moral Attributes of God; Religion, which confifts in the imitation of him, would be altogether unintelligible to our Minds and impoffible to our Practice.

AND

AND All This is in Scripture fo con- SE ERM. ftantly fuppofed to be True, that God XVI. There perpetually appeals to the common Reafon and natural Judgment of Mankind, for the Equity of his Dealings with them: For the Equity, not of particular provi dences, which 'tis impoffible men in this fhort period of life fhould be capable of obferving; but he appeals to them for the Equity of his general Laws or Rules of Government. O House of Ifrael, are not my ways equal, are not your ways unequal? Ezek, xviii. 29. Judge, I pray you, betwixt Me and my Vineyard; What could have been done more to my Vineyard, that I have not done in it? If. v. 3. St Paul in like manner, fpeaking of the Judg ments of God, declares that all Mouths Shall be fopped before him, not by the irrefiftibleness of his Power, but by the conviction of the righteoufnefs and Justice of his Sentence; Rom. iii. 4, cited from 51ft Pfalm, That thou mightest be justified in thy fayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged. Thefe are very plain and full declarations, both that God is fuft; and that men are well capable of underStanding What that Justice is, which is fo

eminent

SER M. eminent a Perfection of the divine NaXVI. ture. And to this natural Senfe and

Knowledge of Right it is, that our Saviour himself appeals, when he fays, Luk. xii. 57. Yea, and why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right? and when he fo often repeats it in his Preaching to the Jews, He that hath Ears to hear, let him hear.

HAVING thus proved in general, that God is and cannot but be Juft; which was the first thing propofed: I proceed now in the

IId place, To endeavour to explain more particularly, wherein the Nature of that Juftice confifts. And here it may be neceffary to premife, that fuftice is of two forts; There is a Juftice which confifts in a diftribution of Equality, and there is a Juftice which confifts in a difftribution of Equity. The former fort belongs to fuch Perfons, as have no other Authority, but only a Power of distributing to feveral Ferfons equally their respective Dues: The Latter fort of Justice belongs to fuch a perfon, as having complete Right and Authority to do what he wills with his own, and diftributing his

free