eth not the Son, shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." And he also said, "Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth, they that have done good unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation." In the parable of the sower, in the parable of the talents, in the parable of the ten virgins, and in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, he gave most clear and striking representations of the future wrath of God, to be poured upon all the finally impenitent. And he commanded his Apostles to proclaim to all the guilty world, "He that believeth shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." Among all the teachers come from God, none so fully revealed his wrath against sinners, as he who came to save them.

3. God has revealed his wrath against this guilty world, by the death of Christ on the cross. His death was designed to condemn sin, and display the wrath of God against it. Christ was perfectly holy and harmless; yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him, to express his displeasure against those, for whom he died. God set forth his Son to be a propitiation for sinners, to declare his righteousness, that is, his vindictive justice, or righteous wrath against them. God was never displeased with Christ; therefore, when he bade the sword of his justice awake, and slay the Son of his love on the cross, he gave the most solemn and awful expression of his wrath against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. Christ died, the just for the unjust; and his receiving a commandment from his Father to make his soul an offering for sin on the cross, made it apparent to the whole universe, that God would by no means clear the guilty, but would punish the impenitent to all eternity. The sufferings and death of Christ exhibited the most solemn and awful spectacle, that ever was exhibited; and all the people that came to that sight, to behold the death of the Lord of glory, smote their breasts in token of astonishment; but especially the friends of Christ were filled with the deepest anguish and sorrow of heart. This gave occasion for Christ to explain the great design of his death, which was to testify God's wrath against sinners, and his disposition to display his vindictive justice towards them. Luke tells us, that

as they led Christ away to Mount Calvary, there followed him a great company of people, and of women, who also bewailed and lamented him. But Jesus turning unto them, said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children—for if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?" When Christ was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities, he gave the most clear and awful display of the wrath of God against sinners; and God the Father sent him into the world for this very purpose, that the universe

might know his infinite wrath against the guilty, perishing children of men. I must add,

4. That God has not only revealed his wrath against the great criminality of sinners, by the penalty of his laws, and the preaching and death of Christ; but also by all the natural evils, which he has brought upon his creatures, in the course of his providence. Natural evil is the proper punishment of moral evil, or the proper expression of God's wrath against those who commit sin. And though God might inflict natural evil upon an innocent creature, to answer a wise and benevolent design; yet we have no evidence, that God would ever have inflicted natural evil upon any created being, if no moral evil had ever existed. So that we may justly consider all the natural evil, which God has ever inflicted, as an expression of his displeasure against sinners. Now, if we look back upon the conduct of God in his governing providence, we shall discover innumerable marks of his displeasure against sin.He has banished the fallen angels from his blessed presence, and bound them in chains of darkness to the judgment of the great day. He turned Adam and Eve out of paradise, to display his displeasure against their first transgression. He cursed the ground for their sakes, and subjected them and their posterity, to pain, sickness and death. He drowned the old world for their universal and deep declension from religion. He burnt up Sodom and Gomorrah for their impious vices and immoralities. He plunged Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea, for their open and obstinate rebellion. He destroyed the Canaanites for their idolatry and flagrant immoralities. Indeed, he gave up all the heathen nations to pursue the path to endless destruction. And besides all these more remarkable expressions of his wrath, he has ever since the apostacy of man, caused the whole creation to groan under the weight of natural evils; such as wars, famines, pestilences, earthquakes, inundations, conflagrations, and innumerable more private and personal pains and distresses. By all these natural evils, from the beginning of the world to this day, God has revealed his wrath from heaven against the rebellious children of men. Every natural evil, that has ever been seen or felt, has been a mark of divine displeasure against transgressors. It has always been the general opinion of all nations, that divine judgments are marks of divine wrath. But we who enjoy the word of God, are not left to mere conjecture upon the subject; for we are divinely informed, that all natural evils are expressions of the wrath of God against sinners. The inspired writers agree in representing all the natural evils, which God has inflicted upon his creatures, as expressions of his wrath, not only towards the sufferers, but toward all that are guilty, and deserve to suffer. Paul, speaking of the sins and punishment of the Israelites, who perished in the wilderness, makes this solemn remark: "Now

all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come." Peter represents the evils and miseries of Christians in this life, as marks of God's displeasure against sinners, and of his fixed determination to punish them in the life to come: "For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God; and if it must begin at us, what shall the end of them be, that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the sinner and the ungodly appear?" But this Apostle in his second epistle, speaks more largely upon this subject, and more fully explains the wise and holy design of God, in the tremendous evils which he has brought upon his sinful creatures. These are his words: "If God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment, and spared not the old world, but saved Noah, the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample to those that after should live ungodly; the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment, to be punished." All the miseries of the damned, all the sufferings of saints and sinners in this world, and all the pains and groans of the lower creation, are so many manifestations of God's infinite displeasure towards those who hold the truth in unrighteousness. God is as constantly and as clearly manifesting his wrath from heaven, as his goodness towards this guilty world.

HEADS OF THE IMPROVEMENT.

1. If the criminality of sinners essentially consists in opposing light; then they never commit any sins of ignorance. Every sin they commit, they commit against light, or against the knowledge of their duty, in every given case. Not only when they are sensible that they oppose light, but when they are not sensible that they it. For it is one thing really to oppose light, and another, to know that they have opposed it. It is true, they oppose light in a thousand cases, when they are not sensible, that they have opposed it--but they never sin, only when they do oppose light; so that all their sins are sins of knowledge.

oppose

2. If God is displeased with sinners for nothing but opposing light; then he will never punish them for any thing, but what they will know that they ought to be punished for.

3. If it be the character of sinners to hold the truth in unrighteousness, and freely and voluntarily oppose light; then no light that can be exhibited before them, can have the least tendency to make them any better. For they are as much disposed to oppose the greatest, as the smallest degree of light No light respecting this world-or a future-God, or his creation, will make them better.

4. If sinners hold the truth in unrighteousness, and oppose all the light exhibited before them; then all light has a natural tendency to make them worse, and prepare them for destruction. All those things, which serve to fit saints for heaven, serve to fit sinners for destruction.

5. If. God has so clearly revealed his wrath from heaven against sinners; then all secure sinners are criminal for their stupidity. It is altogether owing to their resisting the light which God is exhibiting before their eyes.

6. If God has so clearly manifested his wrath against sinners; then whenever they do open their eyes to see God, they must view him as a damning God. He has exhibited himself in no other light to sinners.

7. If God has so clearly revealed his wrath against sinners; then, when they first love him, they love him as a damning God; or love him for his wrath towards them.

9. If God has revealed his wrath against sinners, for opposing light; then we see the amazing absurdity of their waiting for a more convenient season, to embrace the gospel. All the while they wait, they oppose light, and provoke God's wrath.

9. If what has been said be true, it is the immediate duty of sinners to repent-They know they are guilty-God commands them to repent. There is no obstacle in the way, but the opposition of their hearts to light. If they repent, they may escape the wrath of God. If they do not, God's wrath will be poured out upon them. Let saints, who walk in the light, have compassion on those who are in darkness. SENEX.

FOR THE HOPKINSIAN MAGAZINE.

STRICTURES ON A SERMON.

A Sermon was some time since, given to the public, written with ability; upon which, it is thought, some attention should be bestowed. Error is dangerous; and much more so, when it comes. from great and good men: "Call no man father on earth;" but let every sentiment be properly weighed.

The sermon is from John 8, 34, "It is my father that honoreth me, of whom ye say that he is your God."

The doctrine is this: "The God of Abraham was the father of Christ."

To this doctrine, no objection would be made, were it not supposed to be evident, from the whole sermon, that the meaning of the writer is, that the person in the Godhead, who is distinctively called the father, was exclusively the God of Abraham, and that this was the person in the Trinity, who made all the visible appearances of God, exhibited under the Old Testament.

The arguments to evince this sentiment, are as follow: 1. "What Christ himself said upon the subject"—meaning Christ's words in the text, and context.

The writer takes for granted, that by the word God, in his text, the Jews would understand him to mean, the God of Abraham; (which is, no doubt, correct) and this God, Christ called his father. Wherefore the father was the God of Abraham.

2. "It appears that the God of Abraham was the father of Christ, from his calling Christ his son"--meaning in Psalm 2, 7: " Thou art my son," and in the voices from heaven, "Thou art my son ;" "This is my beloved son," &c.

3. The apostles represent the God of Abraham as the father of Christ. By the father, in such texts, the apostles (as Hebrews) must have meant the God of Abraham, and not the son.

Some of our writer's inferences are as follow;

"Then the father of Christ was the King of Israel."

"Then the father of Christ was the creator of the world."

"Then it was the father of Christ who appeared and spake under the Old Testament."

The author, after speaking of some of those appearances, adds, "and every other divine appearance under the Old Testament." Again.

"Then the God of Abraham was not Christ himself.”

This latter, he informs us, was the great object, on which he had had his eye.

The writer anticipates an objection, that "it was Christ whom the Israelites tempted in the wilderness."

He very correctly answers thus; "whatever may be said to be done to one person in the Trinity, may be said to be done to each person in the Trinity; just as what is said by one person in the Trinity, is said by each person in the Trinity."

This is, indeed, a just admission; and a true Trinitarian sentiment. But this admission cuts the sinews of all his own arguments. For then, if God the Father was the God of Abraham, God the Son was, no less, the God of Abraham; and God the Holy Spirit likewise. This Trinitarians believe. But should our writer admit this; what is his labour? and where is the foundation of his inferences? It would not then have appeared, that it was not Christ, but the Father, who was the King of Israel; who created the world; and who made all the divine appearances under the Old Testament.

Can the views given of Christ through the sacred oracles, admit those sentiments of our writer? Is not Christ there, as the procurer of man's salvation; as the mediator of the Godhead to lost men, and as the only mediator, "all and in all?”

The persons making the divine appearances under the Old Testament, was called, "the Angel of the Lord," and "the captains of