GOD'S MARKING INIQUITY. 49 The first is natural, consisting in his omniscience, where unto all things are open and naked. Thus no sin is hid from him ; the most secret is before the light of his countenance : all are marked by him. The other, moral, in a displeasure against every sin, which is inseparable from the nature of God on account of his holiness. And this is declared in the sentence of the law, and that equally to all men. But the marking here intended im- plies animadversion, and punishment according to the tenor of the law. Not only the sentence of the law, but a will of punishing according to it, is included in it. " If," saith the Psalmist, " thou, the great and dreadful God, who art extolled by thy glorious name JAI:, shouldst take notice of iniquities, so as to recompense sinners that come unto thee according to the severity of thy holy law :" what then l It is answered by the proposal, " Who can stand'!" that is, none can so do. No man, not one in the world can stand or abide the trial. Every one, on this supposition, must perish, and that eternally. This, the desert of sin and the curse of the law, which is the rule of thus marking their iniquity, require. There is great emphasis in the form of this interrogation. When the Holy Ghost would show the certainty and dreadfulness of the perdition of ungodly men, he does it by such a kind of expression, wherein there is a deeper sense intimated than any words can well clothe or de- clare : " What then shall be the end of them that obey not the Gospel V' 1 Peter, 4 :17 ; and verse 18, " Where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear V' So here, " Who can standV' There is a deep insinuation of a dreadful ruin, as to all with whom God shall so deal as to mark their iniquities. See Psalm 1: 5. The Psalmist then, addressing himself to deal with God about sin, lays down, in the first place, in general, what the result must be, not to himself only, but to all the world, should God mark iniquity. This is not my Forgi yen ss. 3
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