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every one of which the law denounces the penalty of eternal death.

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The law promised reward to perfect obedience but it promifed not pardon to tranfgreffion. Man, ever inclined to presumptuous murmuring against God, is ready to exclaim that the law was rigorous and cruel.

Rigorous and cruel, because it did not hold forth pardon to those who should wilfully break it! Do human laws hold forth pardon to those who wilfully break them? Is it confiftent with the nature of a law to hold forth pardon to tranfgreffors? Would a law which promifed pardon to those who should break it be likely to procure obedience? Would a wife legiflator among men enact such a law? Could you expect a wife and holy God to promulgate fuch a law? The law of God denounces vengeance against all who break it: and you and I and all men have broken it.

If we entertain any hopes of pardon, we

must look for it from fome other quarter. We must look for it, if. we look for it at all, from the undeserved mercy of the Legislator: but in the law itself, it is unreafonable and impoffible to expect to find forgiveness.

But you complain that a fingle tranfgreffion fhould entail the forfeiture of all the bleffings which might otherwife have been derived under

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under the law! The fact with which you are diffatisfied is unquestionable; a fingle tranfgreffion entails a complete forfeiture. And how ftands the fact in the cafe of human laws? He who tranfgreffes against a single clause of a single act of parliament; is he not punished, and justly punished, for difobeying that clause, even though he may have punctually regarded every other claufe of that particular statute, and every claufe of every other ftatute? If death itfelf be the penalty denounced against all, who should violate that ftatute; is he not justly punished with death? Do you complain then, becaufe God, in delivering for your observance his holy law, has adopted a principle, the equity of which, when adopted by the law of your country, you recognise every day? Do you complain, because God has established the divine law on that foundation, which the universal confent of mankind acknowledges as the only bafis, on which any human law can efficaciously be refted? Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all (p). Whofoever offends against any one precept of the divine law, offends against the whole law, of which that precept is a conftituent part; and against the fovereignty of the Legif(p) James, ii. 1o, 11.

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lator, who has enjoined the uniform obfervance of every part of his law: and defervedly forfeits all the bleffings which were annex-. ed only to the faithful obfervance of the whole. He who fins against any one branch of any one statute, fins against the whole legislative authority of his country, from which every ftatute derives its obligatory power. By defpifing that authority in any one of its injunctions, he proves himself devoid of the difpofitions of a good fubject: he lofes all title to the protection of his country, and falls under the severity of her juftice. And he who wilfully violates in any one inftance the law of that Legiflator, who, when he said, “ Do not commit adultery," faid alfo, "Do not kill;" who, when he commanded the obfervance of his law in one point, equally commanded the obfervance of it in all fins against the fupreme Majefty of Heaven; fhews himfelf deftitute of the temper of a true Chriftian; justly forfeits the favour, and incurs the vengeance of his God.

But you reply that, in fome cafes, if the unhappy man who, by offending against one human law, has rendered himself obnoxious to punishment, fhall have been affiduous in his obfervance of the rest of the laws of the land, he is difcharged from punishment.

Discharged from punishment! How is he discharged from it? He receives pardon by an act of grace. Does he prefume to claim pardon as a debt? Does he demand it as his right, because, though he has broken one ftatute, he has obeyed many? He fues for it as an emanation of free mercy: and as an emanation of free mercy his fovereign bestows it. Now contemplate the divine administration; and behold the refiftlefs force with which your argument turns against yourself. God is willing to pardon not in few and extraor dinary inftances, but in every inftance. He does not wait to be entreated; but fpontaneoufly offers to every offender forgiveness and life. eternal. When he offers unmerited bleffings; fhall he not offer them in his own method, on his own terms? If you feek for pardon; feek it not in the law, from which it is impoffible that you should obtain it. Seek it from the free mercy of God: and seek it in that channel, through which alone he has decreed that his mercy fhall be difpenfed..

III. But previously confider farther, what ftrong reasons there might naturally have been for apprehenfion, that the punishment which our fins deferved would be inflicted in its largest extent. Recollect the holiness of God. Recollec

Recollect that a holy God muft abhor fin and finners. Evil, faith the fcripture, fhall not dwell with God. He is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity. He hateth all the workers of iniquity. The way of the wicked, the thoughts of the wicked, the facrifice and prayer of the wicked, are an abomination unto the Lord (9). What then could the wicked have naturally expected but death and mifery ?Remember too the juftice of God. To me, faith the Lord, belongeth vengeance and recompence. I will render vengeance to mine enemies (r). By fin all mankind were become the enemies of God; and had no claim to escape the extremity of his juftice. Remember likewife the fovereignty of God over all his creatures. Was it to be expected that the Sovereign of the Univerfe would permit fin, which is rebellion against himself, to pafs unpunifhed? Would he permit his righteous laws to be broken, without pouring forth his indignation on the tranfgreffors? Would he pafs over the crimes of the guilty race of man, and thus hold forth an encouragement to prefumptuous guilt in all the other worlds which he has made? Might it not rather have been apprehended, that both for the purpofe of punishing human fin (7) Pf, v. 4, 5. Habb. i. 13. Prov.xv. 8, 9. 26. xxviii. (Deut. xxxii. 35. 41. Heb. x. 30.

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