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Chrift. It treated the Ifraelites with all feverity. It applied the rod of its threatening and curfe; that they might fee the neceffity of fleeing from it, to Him who was revealed, although more obfcurely, as the end of the law for righteouf"nefs." By the multitude of its facrifices, as it could never be reasonably believed that God would accept of the blood of a beaft as an atonement for the fin of man, it both declared the neceffity of a complete fatisfaction, and directed them to look for one of this character in the fufferings of the promifed Meffiah. By the conftant repetition of fuch facrifices, their infufficiency was taught, and the neceffity of one that fhould for ever take away fin.

The Church is now delivered from the ceremonial law. But the law, as a covenant of works, hath the fame language. It teftifies to the finner that it hath nothing in referve for him but eternal death. When it comes with power to the heart, man is convinced that except he be faved through the righteoufnefs of a Surety, he must certainly perish.

We may perceive the grace of our God, in providing a remedy, and efpecially in doing it at fuch infinite expence. Many pretend to plead for the riches of grace, at the expence of denying the atonement ? "How does grace appear, do they fay, if complete fatisfaction mu be "made for fin? Does it not exhibit this per"fection in a far more engaging, light, if we "view God as pardoning fin without requiring

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any atonement to juftice?" But this doctrine, so far from illuftrating, obfcures the grace of God. If a friend confers a favour on us, we esteem the favour in proportion to what. it coft him. Were it confiftent with the nature of God, to pardon fin without any atonement, the display of his grace would be far inferior. But when we know from his word, that he "will by no means clear "the guilty," that, from his effential and neceffary love of righteousness, he punishes the wicked; we see the highest reafon to admire the grace of God in the gift of his own Son as a facrifice. This is as much grace to us, as if no atonement had been neceffary; because all the bleffings of the covenant are given "without money, and "without price :" and it is commended to us, exhibited in the most engaging point of view, becaufe "God fo loved the world, as to give his on"ly begotten Son."

We learn the impoffibility of escaping the ftroke of divine juftice, if we defpife the remedy. "How "fhall we escape, if we neglect fo great falva"tion?" He that despised Moses' law, died with"out mercy. Of how much forer punishment "shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden "under foot the Son of God?" And all tread him under foot, who refufe to put the crown of their falvation on his head.

In fine, we perceive the neceffity of reverence. in all our Chriftian fervice. In this very way, the apostle, writing to the Hebrews, applies what he had faid with respect to the terrors of the law,

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and the fuperior privileges of the gospel. "Where"fore, we receiving a kingdom which cannot be "moved, let us have grace whereby we may serve "God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear. "For our God is a confuming fire i." He manifefted himself, in this character, under the law. The difpenfation under which we live, is very different with refpect to immediate temporal tokens of divine indignation. But we ftill ferve the fame God. His holiness is invariably the fame, even although it is not manifefted by fuch difplays of his juftice. But even these have not been wanting under the New Teftament. What affecting monuments of divine displeasure were Judas Ifcariot, and Ananias and Sapphira! God set them up, in the very dawn of the gospel-church, as beacons to deter us from tampering with his juftice. For even our God is a confuming fire. Such temporal judgments are far lefs frequent under this difpenfation. But for this we may fee a fufficient reafon. The eternal ftate is more clearly revealed and in this the fire of divine juftice will burn with far greater heat, than ever it did in temporal punishment. Therefore faith the apoftle, in the paffage formerly referred to; "that ye refufe not him that speaketh: for if they efcaped not who refused him that spake on earth, "much more fhall not we escape, if we turn away "from him that speaketh from heaven 1."

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SECTION V.

On Divine Juflice, in vifiting the Iniquities of Fathers upon their Children.-Children punished for the fins of Parents.-Parents punished in their Children.-Iniquity vifited on thofe efpecially who continue in the wicked courses of their Progenitors. Some fins more remarkably vifited on fucceeding generations, than others.This vifitation extends farther than to temporal punishment.-Something in human conduct analogous to this procedure of Divine Juftiec.-Objections anfwered.

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THE Juftice of God, like every other perfection of his nature, is incomprehenfible. We often find reafon to exclaim; "His judgments are a great deep!-How unfearchable are his judgments, and his ways paft finding out!" But we need not wonder that our weak and depraved reafon fhould be loft in the contemplation of that adorable perfection, which is employed in the punifhinent of fin; as there is an extent in its evil, which we cannot comprehend.

The divine conduct, in vifiting the iniquities of fathers upon their children, is one of thofe awful difplays of juftice, which it seems to be a fpe

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cial defign of revelation to fet before us in the moft confpicuous light. With a fincere defire to discover the mind of the Spirit," let us humbly inquire into the doctrine which the Holy Scriptures contain on this important fubject.

1. It is confiftent with divine juftice, to punifh children for the fins of their parents, although they have had no hand in thefe. This principle is eftablished by a great variety of facts. For the crime of Ham, the curfe was entailed on his pofterity by Canaan m. Some think that the curfe extended to all the pofterity of Ham, and that Canaan is particularly mentioned, because this hiftory being immediately written for confirming the faith of the Ifraelites, the prophecy of Noah was to them a prelude of victory over the Canaanites, and of the poffeffion of their land. Others fuppofe that Canaan was fingled out by the Patriarch, under the influence of the Spirit of infpiration, as having been immediately concerned with Ham in the crime which he committed. But of this we have no evidence whatsoever. Admitting it to be confiftent with justice to punish children for the iniquities of their fathers, God, in his adorable fovereignty, might entail the curfe in a special manner upon one branch of the pofterity of Ham. It has been faid, that the curfe was not "pronounced upon Canaan for his father "Ham's tranfgreffion;" that "fuch arbitrary proceedings are contrary to all our ideas of the

m Gen. ix. 25.

"divine

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