the facred Body they have crucified afresh, and put to open Shame, by their fcandalous Lives; and the Wounds of his Hands and Feet and facred Side, which they have renewed a thousand times by their enormous Crimes. St. Auftin reprefents him fpeaking to them in this Manner: Videte vulnera, quæ inflixiftis, agnofcite latus, quod pupugiftis: That is, See the Wounds you inflicted, fee the Side you have pierced. Óh! what a dreadful Sight will this be! The Sight of a Judge, who has been despised, mocked, and crucified by the Criminal whofe Doom he is going to pronounce: The Sight of a Judge, who knows every aggravating Circumftance of all the Crimes he has ever committed against him: Finally, the Sight of a Judge, who is infinitely just, and will accordingly do himfelf Juftice to the utmost Rigour.

Now this laft Quality, I mean, his infinite Juftice, added to the two former, renders the Cafe of a Perfon dying in mortal Sin, and fummoned before the Tribunal of Chrift,not only frightful beyondImagination, but utterly defperate: For tho' his Judge were infinitely knowing, tho' he were the Party offended in all his Crimes, yet if there were ftill room for Mercy, if the Judge were capable of being either biaffed by Intereft or Inclination, or moved with Compassion, to mitigate at least the Sentence, and not Tom. I.

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pronounce against him according to the utmoft Rigour of Juftice, this would be at least fome Comfort. But the Judge is not only juft, but infinitely just; and an infinite Juftice, joined with an infinite Knowledge of the Merits of the Caufe, excludes all Hopes of any milder Sentence, than precifely what the Number and Quality of his Sins have deferved: Because Juftice, as it regards the Office of a Judge, is a Virtue which determines him to beftow Rewards, and inflict Punishments, exactly proportioned to the Merits of the Cause he has before him. So that the greatest Saint will be judged by Chrift with the fame Exactnefs and Equality of Juftice as the greatest Sinner: Becaufe, as St. Paul tells us, he will render to every Man according to his Works.

In this World indeed Things are not fo. Juftice is often perverted, either through the Weaknefs or Corruption of the Judge: And fo it happens many times, that Innocence is oppreffed, and Wickedness rewarded, or at least unpunished. But fuppose Justice were always adminifter'd impartially, yet in this World there would feldom be an exact Equality between the Punishment and the Crime: because this Equality is wholly unknown to Men, which by Confequence makes most human

Laws

Laws defective; and where the Rule itself is defective, the Practice guided by it must be fo too. So that the Juftice of this World is but a faint Shadow of that of the other, where every thing will be according to exact Weight and Measure: And therefore, as every Saint in Heaven will poffefs a Degree of Glory exactly proportioned to the Merits of his past good Works, fo will every damn'd Soul in Hell have his Degree of Torments measured out to him with the most exact Proportion to the Number, Quality, and each aggravating Circumstance of his Sins. Quantum fuit in deliciis, tantum date illi tormenta; that is, as much as he has been in Delights, So much Torment let him fuffer, will be the Doom of Babylon, and of every reprobate Soul And this exact Proportion will be determined in the very Inftant that the criminal Soul appears before the Tribunal of Chrift.

Neither will he have the leaft Regard to the Riches, Titles, or Dignity of any Perlon; for there is no Refpect of Persons with God, who hates Sin, and will punish it with equal Rigour wherever he finds it. So that before the great Tribunal there will be no other Diftinction between King and Subjects, Mafter and Servants, but that which is grounded upon the Merits or De

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merits of their Lives paft. Nay, Greatnefs and Wealth will rather entitle the Poffeffors to a feverer Judgment: because they are Talents, with which they were intrufted, and an Account will be demanded, whether they have employ'd them to the Benefit or Prejudice of their own and Neighbours Souls. A great Man is generally either a great Good or a great Evil to Mankind, and the Inftrument either of God's Wrath or Mercy on those who depend upon him: And therefore as he feldom goes unattended either to Hell or Heaven, fo his Reward will be the greater in proportion to the Number he has helped to fave, and his Torments will likewise receive an additional Increase on the score of every Perfon, to whofe Damnation he has been acceffary by the Power and Influence of his Example, or otherwife. And fo this facred Oracle, potentes potenter tormenta patientur, that is, the mighty hall suffer mighty Torments, which makes their Greatnefs the Measure of the Punishment, will be fully verified of them.

Thus will the infinite Juftice of God exert itself in the laft Day, by inflicting Punishments with an equal and impartial Hand, and demanding of every Man the laft Farthing of the Debt he has contracted. And this Debt will be computed not

only

only by the Number and Quality of the Sins he has committed and not fatisfied for, but alfo by the Benefits he has received whether temporal or fpiritual; of which there will be a dreadful Example in those Cities, where Chrift preached, and wrought many Miracles without Fruit; fince he himself, who is to be their Judge, has already pronounced this terrible Sentence upon them, that even the wicked Cities of Sodom and Gomorrha, will in the Day of Judgment be more favourably treated than they: becaufe that fignal Bleffing of his Preaching, and working Miracles amongst them, being at Talent received, and not improved, must be accounted for, and will but ferve to inflame the Reckoning. And therefore as it will aggravate the Debt contracted by their other Sins, fo will it in the fame Proportion increase their Punishment. And this will alfo be the unhappy Cafe of reprobate Chriftians, who having received and abused 'Favours for furpaffing thofe of the Jews, will by Confequence receive a far feverer Judgment than they, and be the most unfortunate of all human Creatures.

Nor is this exact Severity of God's Justice in the other World any ways derogating from that infinite Mercy fo much extoll'd in Holy Writ. For as God is infinite in all his Attributes, fo his Mercy is