sin for a virtue, and he knows what degree of guilt is in every action: hence it is said, "The Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. Thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just." God not only knows justice and injustice when he sees them: but as he himself is a just and holy being, he cannot behold both with indifference to either: "The righteous Lord loveth righteousness, but him that loveth violence his soul hateth." There is not in God any horror at sin like what we feel, for pain is not necessary to his love of justice but there is in him a perfect approbation of what is right, and an extreme irreconcileableness to what is wrong. The God who sees, and knows, and judges, and approves or disapproves of the actions of men, is able to reward the right, and to punish the wrong and his almighty power is at perfect agreement with his love of holiness, he must protect right and punish wrong. Every man in the world would agree to all this, had he not some wicked self-interest in not having impartial justice done.

Our next principle is, that the present life is not a state of rewards and punishments. Some have said, that God punishes a few wicked men here with remarkable judgments, lest we should forget he governs the world; and he punishes only a few criminals here, lest we should forget a future state of punishments. Perhaps this may be true: but I dare never go out of Scripture on this principle. Such instances as Judas, and Belshazzar, and Pharoah, we allow on the testimony of the inspired historians; but we should be liable to rash judgments, and cruel mistakes, were we to walk in this dark path without an inspired guide. What we affirm is, that this is not the general condition of mankind here. Our Lord fully settles this doctrine by saying, "Suppose ye that the Galileans, whose blood Pilate mingled with their sacrifices," or that the "eighteen upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem, or above all Galileans? I tell you, nay: I tell you, nay.' These Galileans sacrificing imperfectly to the true God, were not more superstitious than others of their neigh

bours, nor so superstitious as the heathens, who sacrificed to an idol; much less were they so wicked as some others, who worshipped no God at all. Probably those eighteen unfortunate debtors, upon whom the walls of their prison fell, were not more in debt than others in Jerusalem, nor so guilty as some whose extravagance had brought them into debt, and whose arts had enabled them to escape justice. This life is a state of trial, and the next is the state of rewards and punishments. This is the doctrine of Jesus Christ, and on this principle he grounds some excellent rules of practice; as, to avoid rash judging, to submit patiently to afflictions, and so on. "Judge not, that ye be not judged. Judge not according to the appearance." The apostle thoroughly understood this, when he said, "What have I to do to judge them that are without? With me it is a very small thing, that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self, for I know nothing by myself: but he that judgeth me is the Lord. Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts."

Here we are come to a difficulty. There is no difficulty in regard to the wicked, for as soon as they die they go to a prison; at the resurrection of the dead they will be brought out to take their trial; and after that they will be punished, each according as his iniquities deserve. Then will be "tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that hath done evil.” As ma

ny as have sinned without a written law, shall perish without a written law and as many as have sinned against a written law, shall be judged by that law for the judgment of God is according to truth, and he will render to every man according to his own deeds." Here is no difficulty; all is fair, clear, open, and just. The difficulty is in the case of others, who, though they were once "idolaters, adulterers, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, or extortioners, yet inherit the kingdom of God." Merciful God! on what principles are these, as deep in guilt as others, admitted to ever

lasting communion with thee? Art thou partial, and hast thou one law for one thief, and another law for another? That be far from thee! Is thine abhorrence of sin suspended in behalf of these people? That be far from thee! Thou art "in one mind, and who can turn thee?" Did these people repent and reform, and didst thou pity and pardon them? Pity for the wretched is glorious in thee who art so able to help them : but is thy pity insensible to thy justice? These people did many unjust things, they have never been in a state of rewards and punishments, and therefore they have not received the just reward of their actions.

In regard to the wicked their punishments are abated in proportion to the good mixed with the evil: but these people escape all punishment, and have entered on a happiness as eternal as that of the purest angel in glory. Almighty parent! "Righteous art thou when I plead with thee; yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments. Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, who am but dust and ashes! Oh! let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once." Where, in regard to these people, are "the ordinances of justice," rigid, impartial, inflexible justice?

No doubt, my brethren, many of you can solve this difficulty but how? Will you say high things of the goodness of God? Do so; it is impossible you should say too much on that delightful subject: yet after all, there is no justice done in this case, no punishments inflicted, no rewarding according to works. Will you say, These people felt much sorrow, and did, after their repentance, much good: Alas! their sorrow was not half enough; it undid nothing that had been done; they should have had innocence, not repentance; and all the good they did, and more than they could do, was due to God, and ought to have been done had they never offended him. Do you say, These people gave their gold and their silver, their cattle, yea, themselves to God? Alas! are you so ill-informed as to call these things theirs? I hear another voice, saying, "Silver is mine, gold is mine, every beast of the forest is mine, the cat

tle upon a thousand hills are mine, the fowls of the mountains are mine, all souls are mine, the soul of the father is mine, the soul of the son is mine, the world is mine, and the fulness thereof." Poor man! dost thou give thy silver, and thy family, and thyself to God? No, God is the Creator of thee, and of all thou hast. Thou livest upon gifts: but he is an independent being, and lives of himself.

Christians, suppose we should go with this difficult case to God, and humbly ask him on what principles he acts in the salvation of sinners? I said at first this was an article of pure revelation, and we thank God the answer is given in a thousand declarations of Scripture. The text says, "Without shedding of blood is no remission." The same chapter tells us, "The blood of Christ obtained eternal redemption for us ;" and other passages inform us, that "God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses to them;" that "He made him sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him;" that "one died for all;" that "by the obedience of one, many were made righteous;" that " we were reconciled to God by the death of his son ;" that "we are justified by his blood, and saved from wrath through him;" that " he his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree :" that "Christ hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust;" that "the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin." Of all these passages, and a great number more to the same purpose, we make a religious principle, and add it to the former truths, as a ground of hope, laid by the love of God for hopeless man, whom reason, assisted by Scripture, leads from principle to principle, from truth to truth, till, but for this, he would fall into deep despair. Despair be banished now! He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Collect all the truths we have laid down into one point. We said there was such a thing as natural justice, a sense of right and wrong. . . that all mankind

have done wrong, and are in a state of injustice... that God sees and knows, abhors and must punish injustice . . . that the present life is not a state of punishment, and that the wicked are punished in a future statę... that some who have been guilty of many crimes yet escape punishment, and are made happy in heaven .. and that this forgiveness is effected through the great love of God, and through the death of Christ. This is the substance of what we have been saying. If some deny this truth, if others perplex it, and if others abuse it, we are sorry for such things: but "let God be true, but every man a liar."

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This doctrine is described in Scripture in plain, proper, literal terms, which establish the matter of fact; and it is also described by similitudes, or fashions of speaking among men, which are intended to explain the subject, and to make us more sensibly affected with it. I will give you an example of each.

The apostle Paul says twice expressly, "We have redemption through the blood of Christ, even the forgiveness of sins.” This is a plain declaration of a matter of fact, and informs us, that though the crucifixion of Christ was a horrible murder committed under forms of human justice against all the laws of real justice, yet from this death we derive redemption, not merely from the yoke of Jewish ceremonies, and heathen superstition, but a release from punishment due to us for sin : "We have redemption through his blood," one principal part of which is the "forgiveness of sins." There is a multitude of passages of this sort, and your discernment will make proper inferences from them in the course of your reading the Holy Scriptures.

To give an example of the other sort. The apostles Peter and Paul both call the blood of Christ, the "blood of sprinkling." The first says, "Peace be multiplied unto you through the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ." The other says, "Ye are come unto the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel." This is a fashion of speaking taken from the Old Testament, where blood was not only shed, but taken into a bason, and sprinked on the altar, and on