pared to yield to all these impreffions which are made upon it, by the feveral incitements to vice and difobedience. This natural tendency which the profpect of full pardon, upon repentance, at any time performed, has to corrupt the minds and morals of mankind, is acknowledged by the Dr. himself, who fays, " Eafy, indifcreet pardons may "give encouragement to tranfgreffion; and forgiveness, lightly obtained, may give a light opinion of wickedness, not only " to the offender himself, but to all his fellow-fubjects." For which reafon, he "that the Deity ought to guard, qualify, and circumftance his pardons in in fuch manner, as not to propagate, but,

tells us,

if poffible, to extirpate a fpirit of difor"order and rebellion;-and that pardon "cannot be wifely and reasonably difpenfed " in any other way; how merciful foever "the governour be, or how penitent fo

ever the criminal'." And what the Dr. thus acknowledges, and reafon and common-fenfe dictate, experience and obfervation confirm. What is it that is feen, in the way of common obfervation, or that is felt in the experience of all individuals, to be the main, conftant, and inexhauftible fountain of fin and difobedience? Is it not the profpect

1 See Scripture-doctrine of Atonement examined, Chap. X. §. 165,

profpect and hope of abfolute and full pardon, upon repentance, at any time performed? Is it not this, which, from time to time, encourages the wicked to perfevere in a course of disobedience and impenitency, and even, in a manner irremediable, hardens them in it? And is it not the pernicious influence of the fame hope, that fo frequently enervates the good purposes and refolutions even of the penitent and righteous, and feduces them into the practice of known fin? In a word, is it not this hope of an abfolute and full pardon, raised and kept up in the minds of people by the doctrines and fyftems of men, that is the general encouragement to all manner of vice, and the main fource of that univerfal corruption of manners which has fpread itself among mankind? moft certainly it is. And, I am afraid, that the evil effects of this dangerous and enfnaring hope will never be removed, till the dictates of right reason, and the doctrines of revelation, in relation to the don of the penitent, are more thoroughly fearched out, better understood, and exhibited in a light different from that in which they are commonly and ufually placed at prefent; fuch a light as may convince men, that they can neither remain, for any time, in a courfe of wilful difobedience and impenitency, nor commit any one wilful fin, without rendering their state so much

N

par

the

the worse, in proportion, by fo doing; and that, in a manner not remediable by repentance, nor by any other means.

§. 9. BUT the Dr. thinks, that these ill effects upon the moral temper and behaviour of men, which would, otherwise, naturally arife from a previous hope or affurance of abfolute and full pardon, upon repentance, at any time performed, are duly and properly guarded against by the facrifice of Christ, or the perfect obedience and goodness of his whole life; and that, because this facrifice, as it is a reason with God for granting full and abfolute pardon to the finner, at what time foever he repents, "fo it has a natural "and ftrong tendency, as a moral mean, to "render men, who are corrupt and wicked,

penitent and obedient"." But in this, I think, the Dr. is mistaken: for the facrifice, or perfect obedience and goodness of Christ, (whatever tendency it may have to render men penitent and obedient, when placed in a different view, yet) in the view in which it is placed in his scheme, that is, as being a reafon with God to grant unto finners a full and abfolute pardon of their fins, at what time foever they repent of them; and even to furnish them with the hope of such a pardon, not only before they have repented of

m See Scripture-doctrine of Atonement examined, Chap. X. §. 168–171.

of their fins, but before they have committed them; I fay, the perfect obedience and goodness of Chrift, confidered in this view, must have a natural and ftrong tendency to harden men in fin, and to corrupt them more and more, as removing all fear of punishment at the very time they are committing fin, or refolving to commit it. More particularly.

§. 10. Firft. THE perfect obedience and goodness of Chrift, as fupplying all men, both penitent and impenitent, even at the very time they are offending, with the hope not only of a discharge from the punishment of the impenitent, but of a full and abfolute pardon, upon repentance, at any time. performed, must have a very ill effect upon the morals of mankind. It must have a natural and strong tendency not only to remove all apprehenfion of danger, and fear of punishment, at the very time they are offending; but even to raise in them the hope of being able to enjoy all the pleasures and emoluments of wickednefs for the prefent, and to ward off all punishment by repentance, to be performed, fome time or other, afterwards. And when the fear of all punishment is thus removed, and the hope of abfolute impunity fupplied; what poffibly can there remain, that can be deemed fufficient, to deter men, corrupt and wicked, from any fin or act of difobediN 2

ence?

ence? the perfect obedience and goodness of Christ, confidered as being a reason with God for granting full and abfolute pardon, upon repentance, performed at any time of life, can have no influence this way, but must have a contrary tendency; because, by enabling men to enjoy the pleafures and emoluments of a vicious life for the prefent, with the hope of full pardon and impunity, to be fecured, fooner or later, by repentance; it muft prove a direct and great encouragement to the practice of fin, and a mean of rendering men eafy and fecure in the commiffion of it.

§. 11. Secondly. THE perfect obedience and goodness of Christ, confidered as being a reason with God, additional to the motive which arifes from the innate goodness and mercy of his own nature, for granting a full and abfolute pardon, upon repentance, performed at any time of life, muft have a ftill worse influence upon the morals of wicked and corrupt men. For, confidered in this view, they have no tendency, but only to heighten and ftrentghen fuch a hope of entire impunity, upon a late repentance, as must remove all fear of punishment for the present, and be an encouragement to the practice of vice and wickedness.

S. 12. FROM thefe confiderations, 'tis evident, I think, that the perfect obedience and goodness of Jefus Chrift, as they stand,

and