power and justice. God will deal so with you as to glorify these attributes in your destruction. His great majesty, his awful justice, and mighty power, shall be showed upon you. "What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much long suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction." Rom. ix. 22.

(4.) Consider what God has said he will do to his enemies. He has declared that they shall not escape, but that he will surely punish them. "Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies, thy right hand shall find out all those that hate thee," Psal. xxi, 8. "And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: He will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face," Deut. vii. 10. "The Lord shall wound the head of his enemies, and the hairy scalp of such an one as goeth on still in his trespasses." Psal. lxviii. 21.

Yea, God hath sworn, that he will be avenged on them; and that in a most awful and dreadful manner. "For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live forever. If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and I will reward them that hate me. I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, (and my sword shall devour flesh) and that with the blood of the slain....from the beginning of revenges on the enemy." Deut. xxxii. 40, 41, 42. The terribleness of that destruction that God will bring on his enemies, is here vari"ously set forth. As particularly in God's "whetting his glit-tering sword," as one that prepares himself to do some great execution. "His hands take hold on judgment," to signify that he will surely reward them as they deserve." "He will render vengeance to his enemies, and reward them that hate him." i. e. He will render their full reward; he will not fail or come short. As in the forementioned place it was said he would not be slack in this matter. "I will make mine arrows drunk with blood.” This signifies the greatness of the 1 destruction. It shall not be a little of their blood that shall satisfy; but his arrows shall be glutted with their blood. "And his sword shall devour flesh." That is, it shall make

dreadful waste of it. Hereby is very lively set forth the terrible manner in which God will one day rise up and execute vengeance on his enemies.

Again, the totality and perfection of their destruction is represented in the following words: "The wicked shall perish, the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs, they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away," Psal. xxxvii. 20. The fat of lambs, when it is burnt in the fire, burns all up; there is not so much as a cinder left; it all consumes into smoke. This is made use of here to represent the perfect destruction of God's enemies in his wrath. So God hath promised Christ, that he would make his enemies his footstool, Psal. cx. 1. i. e. He would pour the greatest contempt upon them, and as it were tread them under foot.

Consider that all these things will be executed on you if you continue God's enemies.

Inf. IV. If it be so, that natural men are God's enemies, hence we may learn how justly God may refuse to show you mercy. For is God obliged to show mercy to his enemies? Is God bound to set his love on them that have no love to him; but hate him with perfect hatred? Is God bound to come and dwell with them that have an aversion to him, and choose to keep at a distance from him, and fly from him as one that is hateful to them? If you earnestly desire the salvation of your soul, is God bound to comply with your desires, when you do always resist and oppose his will? Is God bound to be persuaded and overcome by your prayers, when you are obstinate in your opposition to him, and refuse to yield obedience to him? Is God bound to put honor upon you, and to advance you to such dignity as to be a child of the king of kings, and the heir of the kingdom of glory, while you at the same time have God in the greatest contempt, and set him too low to have the lowest place in your heart? Is God bound to spare life, and deliver your from eternal death, when you are a you mortal enemy to God, and would, if you could, destroy the being of God? Is God obliged to set his great and transcendent love on you, so as to give you benefits purchased by

the blood of his own Son, when your heart is all the while full of that enmity that strikes at the life of God?

This doctrine affords a strong argument for the absolute sovereignty of God, with respect to the salvation of sinners. If God is pleased to show mercy to his haters, it is certainly fit that he should do it in a sovereign way, without acting as any way obliged. God will show mercy to his mortal enemies; but then he will not be bound, he will have his liberty to choose the objects of his mercy; to show mercy to what enemy he pleases, and punish and destroy which of his haters he pleases. And certainly this is a fit and reasonable thing. It is fit that God should distribute saving blessings in this way, and in no other, viz. in a sovereign and arbitrary way. And that any body ever thought of, or devised any other way for God to show mercy, than to have mercy on whom he would have mercy, must arise from ignorance of their own hearts, whereby they were insensible what enemies they naturally are to God.

But consider here the following things,

1. How causelessly you are enemies to God. You have no manner of reason for it, either from what God is, or from what he has done. You have no reason for this from what he is, for he is an infinitely lovely and glorious being; the fountain of all excellency: All that is amiable and lovely in the universe, is originally and eminently in him. Nothing can possibly be conceived of, that could be lovely in God, that is not in him, and that in the greatest possible degree, even infinitely.

And you have no reason for this, from what God has done. For he has been a good and bountiful God to you. He has exercised abundance of kindness to you; has carried you from the womb, preserved your life, taken care of you, and provided for you all your life long. He has exercised great patience and longsuffering towards you. If it had not been for the kindness of God to you,what would have become of you? What would have become of your body? And what, before this time, would have become of your soul? And you are now, every day, and hour, maintained by the goodness and bounty of God.

Every new breath you draw, is a new gift of God to you. How causelessly then are you such dreadful enemies to God? And how justly might God, for it, eternally deprive you of all mercy, seeing you do thus requite God for his mercy and kindness to you?

2. Consider how you would resent it, if others were such enemies to you as you are to God. If they had their hearts so full of enmity to you; if they treated you with such contempt, and opposed you, as you do God; and injured you so much as you do God, how would you resent it? Do you not find that you are apt greatly to resent it, when any oppose you, and show an ill spirit towards you? And though you excuse your own enmity against God from your corrupt nature that you brought into the world with you, which you could not help, yet you do not excuse others for being enemies to you from their corrupt nature that they brought into the world, which they could not help; but are ready bitterly to resent it notwithstanding.

Consider therefore, if you, a poor, unworthy, unlovely creature, do so resent it, when you be not loved, but hated, how may God justly resent it when you are enemies to him, an infinitely glorious being; and a being from whom you have received so much kindness?

3. How unreasonable it is for you to imagine that you can oblige God to have respect to you by any thing that you can do, continuing still to be his enemy! If you think you have prayed and read, and done considerable for God; yet who cares for the seeming kindness of an enemy?

What value would you yourself set upon it, if a man should seem to cary it respectfully to you, with a fair face, talking smooth, and making a show of friendship; when you knew, at the same time, that he was inwardly your mortal enemy? Would you look upon yourself obliged for such respect and kindness? Would you not rather abhor it? Would you count such respect to be valued, as Joab's towards Amasa, who took him by the beard, and kissed him, and said, art thou in health, my brother? And smote him at the same time under the fifth rib, and killed him?

What if you do pray to God, is God obliged to hear the prayers of an enemy? What if you have taken a great deal of pains, is God obliged to give heaven for the prayers of an enemy? God may justly abhor your prayers, and all that you do in religion, as the flattery of a mortal enemy. No wonder God does not accept any thing from the hands of an enemy.

Inf. V. Hence we may learn how wonderful is the love that is manifested in giving Christ to die for us. For this love is love to enemies. That is taken notice of in the text, "While we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son." How wonderful was the love of God the Father in giving such a gift to such, who not only were such as could not be profitable to him, and such as could merit nothing from him, and poor little worms of the dust; but were his enemies, and enemies to so great a degree! They had that enmity that aimed at his life; yet so did he love them, that he gave his own Son to lay down his own life to save their lives. Though they had that enmity that sought to pull God down out of his throne, yet God so loved them, that he sent down Christ from heaven, from his throne there, to be in the form of a servant; and instead of a throne of glory, gave him to be nailed to the cross, and to be laid in the grave, that so we might be brought to a throne of glory.

• How wonderful was the love of Christ in thus exercising dying love to his enemies! That he should so love those that hated him, with hatred that sought to take away his life, so as voluntarily to lay down his life, that they might have life through him. "Herein is love; not that we loved him, but that he loved us, and laid down his life for us."

Inf. VI. If we are all naturally God's enemies, hence we may learn what a spirit it becomes us to be of towards our enemies. Though we are enemies to God, yet we hope that God has loved us; and we hope that Christ has died for us; and we hope that God has forgiven or will forgive us, and will do us good, and bestow infinite mercies and blessings upon us, so as to make us happy forever. All this mercy, we hope has been, or will be exercised towards us while enemies.