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not come into the land, &c. I the Lord have Said, I will furely do it; Where God Almighty himself does plainly enough teach us, that his Veracity is concern'd to Inflict the punishments which he hath abfolutely threatned, that the Evil Denounced against the Ifraelites must be Infallibly Executed, because he had abfolutely Denounced it.

As for the cafe of Nineveh here urged to fhew, that if God Almighty should not Inflict the Eternal punishments which he hath threatned, it would be no violation of his Truth, 'tis altogether foreign to the business. For the threatning denounced against that City was Conditional and therefore Revocable; whereas the Threatnings of Future punishment are Abfolute and Irreversible.

Jonah was fent to threaten the Ninevites with destruction, because their wickedness was great and came up before the Lord; but before the time appointed for their deftruction, they repented and + turned from their evil way, and upon

* Jonah. i. 2. t. iii. 10,

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this account God repented of the Evil that he had faid that he would do unto them, and he did it not. The Reason and Condition of the punishment were removed; and Therefore the Threatning did of course become void. The conclufion then to be drawn from the cafe of Nineveth, with refpect to Future punishment is this, that if we Repent and forfake our fins as the Ninevies did, we shall escape Eternal punishment, as they did the Temporal deftruction denounced against them. This is all that can be concluded from that Example, and I need not urge any thing further to fhew, that this is nothing to the purpose. For God Almighty hath pofitively declared, that all Habitual Impenitent Sinners shall fuffer Everlasting mifery, and his Truth is as directly and ftrictly concern'd, that the punishments thus Threatn'd fhall be executed, as that the Eternal rewards, which are Promifed, fhall be bestowed upon the Faithful and Obedient.

There are fome other fuggeftions in the discourse that I have been examining, which likewise seem to give occafion of Disbelief;

Disbelief; but they are coincident with the mistakes already reprefented, and may be anfwer'd from the confiderations already laid down.

Having thus endeavour'd to prove and vindicate the Article in the Text, I fhall conclude with two or three Inferences from this difcourfe. And

1st, 'Tis hence obfervable, that no man should entertain the lefs Honourable thoughts of Religion and the Holy Scriptures, because they admit of fome Objections, fo long as thofe objections can be fatisfied, and the Truth made manifest, notwithstanding all that can be urged in oppofition to it. For the very Best things may be excepted against, as the very Worft do admit of fome Vindication. God Almighty does not Neceffitate our Understandings to embrace the Truth, any more than he does Overrule our Wills by Irresistible grace. If there were no room left for Errour, where would be the Excellency of abiding in the Truth? And if there were no Poffibility of Doubt or Disbelief, Faith would cease to be a Virtue.

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2ly, We may hence obferve with St. Paul, that the Wisdom of this world is foolifhness with God. When men set up their own Imperfect and corrupt thoughts in oppofition to the revealed Will of God, the notions they are fo fond of, as appearing to be highly Rational, are nothing but the effects of fome wild Paffion or worldly Interest: For nothing that is Really Wife and True can be oppofed to the will and pleasure of him, who is Infinite in Wisdom and Truth. When we call in queftion the Certainty or Equity of what God hath pofitively declared, our Wisdom degenerates into Folly, and our Reafon into Madnefs.

God indeed hath been graciously pleafed fo to contrive and difpofe his difpenfations, that the Reafon and Equity of them are much more certain and clear, even to our Narrow capacities, than any thing that can be objected against them. And when notions are advanced to the Difhonour of God, and the Detriment of Religion, 'tis Indifpenfably incumbent upon us to oppofe Right reafon to the Corruptions of it, and vindicate the Di

vine Difpenfation: Otherwise 'tis not our business to search into the Reasons of God's proceedings; and much more Unwarrantable is it, much more Infolent and Impious to make our Reason the Judge of him who beftowed it upon us, whofe * Judgments are Unfearchable and his ways paft finding out. An unbelieving Pharifee questions, † How can these things be? and our Bleffed Saviour replies, Verily verily I fay unto thee, we speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen, and ye receive not our Witness. It is the Divine Testimony that we are to depend upon, and ftedfastly acquiefce in. We find it recorded to the very great honour of the Bereans, That they received the word with all readiness of mind, and Searched the Scriptures daily whether those things were fo. It was the perfection of Sincerity and Piety in them, that they indulged no vain fcruples, admitted of no vain Curiofity about the Reasons of the Divine Administration, but fearched only whether thofe things were fo, only en

*Rom. xi. 33. † Joh. iii. 9, 11.

‡ Acts. xvii. 11. deavoured,

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