638 the Yuflice of God ira the Diftribution 'Tol, I. is plain, becaufe God in his ordinary Providence does permit the Caufes , which produce there Judgments, to a& according to their own Nature, and they either cannot or will not make any Diftin &ion ; for the Calamities which ordinarily hap- pen in the World are produced by'two forts of Caufes , either thofe which we call Natural , or thofe which are Voluntary. Natural Caufes, fuch as Wind, and Thúnder, and Storms, and the Infe&ion of the Air, and the like , there acting by a Neceffìty of Nature, without any Knowledge or Choice , can make no Di- ftinaion between the Good and Bad. And the Voluntary Caufes of Calamities, as Men arc, theymany times willmake no difference between the Righteous and the Wicked; nay, many times they are malicioufly bent againft the Righteous , añd the Effe&s of their Malice fall heavieft upon them. Now we fay that things happen in the way of ordinary Providence , when Natural Caufes are permitted to at according to their Nature, and Voluntary Caufes are left to their Liberty ; and therefore in the courfe of ordinary Providence, it is not to be expe&ed that fach a Diftin tian"should be made ; it is neither poffible, nor does Juftice require it ; it is not poffittle, fuppofing Natural Caufes left to at according to their Na- ture, and Voluntary Caufes to be left to their Liberty ; nor does Juftice require it, for every Man is fo much a Sinner , that no Evil that btfals him' in this World, can be Paid to be unjuft in refpe& of God. So that Abraham is not here to be underflood, as (peakingof fuck Judgments as befal Men in the ordinary Conde of God's Providence, in which, ifthe Good and Bad be involv'd alike, it cannot be expe&ed to be otherwife , nor is there any Injuftice in it; but Abraham here fpeaks of Miraculous and Extraordinary Judgments, which are immediately infli&ed by God for the Punifhment of fome crying Sins, and the Example of the World, to deter others from the like. And Such was this.Judgment, which God intended to bringupon Salem, and which Abraham bath Relation to in this Difcourfe of his. In this Cafe it may beexpe- led from the 7uflice of God, that a Difference fhould be made between' the Righteous and the Wicked ; and that for. thefe Reafons: r. Beaufe this is a Judgment which God himfelf executes. It is not an Event of common Providence, which always follows the Nature of its Caufe, but an Ad of God, as a yudge. Now it is effential to a Judge to make a DifCrithinati- on between the Good and the Bad, fo as to punifh the one, and fpare theother and this is as neceffary to all proper Adsof lodgment in this World, as the other; there being no other Difference between them, but that one is a Particular Judg- ment, and the other the General Judgment of the whole World. a. WhenGod goes out of the way of his ordinary Providence in Punifhing, it may»reafonably be expected that he fhould make a difference between theGood and the Bad ; for the Reafon why he does not in his common Providence, is be- caufe he will not break and interrupt the eftablilhed order of things upon every little ocaton : Btlt when he does go betides the common courfe of Things in punifhing, the Reafon ceafeth which hindred him before from making a diffe- rence ; and 'tis reafonable enough to expe&, that in the infli&ing of a Miraculous lodgment, a Miraculous difference fhould be made. Without making thisdifference, the end of thefe Miraculous Judgments, wouldnot be attained, which is, remar- kably to punifh thecryingSins of Men, and by that example to deter others from the likeSins: But if thefeJudgments fhould fall promifcuoufly upon the Righteous and the Wicked, it would not be evident, that theywere defigned for the . Pu- 'nifhment of fuchSins, when Men did fee, that they fell likewife upon thofewho were not guilty of thofe fins, and confequently the example could not be fo effectu- al todeter Men from Sin. Upon all thefe accounts you fee that Abraham's reafoning was very Strong and well Grounded, as to thofe Judgments which are Miraculous and Extraordi- nary, and immediately infliíled by God, for the Punifhnent of great and heinous Sins, which was the Cafe he was fpeaking of.' And accordingly we find, that in thofeJudgments whichhave been Immediately and Miraculoufly infli&ed by God he hath always made this difference between the Righteous and the Wicked. In the Deluge which he brought upon the old World, the Spirit of God gives, this
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