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THF.
RATL'Ikfi
OF' TFZE
PLZ7ISII:I7ENTS
RELL. tDISC. Xff:
though
every
man be
a liar
;"
Rom.
iii.
4.
let God
be
pure,
and
righteous, and
holy,
though
every man
be found guilty
and criminal
:
otherwise
how
shall
God
judge the
world
verse
6.
How can he
inflict such
torments
on
rebellious creatures,
if
he
constrain or in-
fluence them
to
practise
this
rebellion
?
All
opinions
therefore,
that
allow
of
such an inference,
as
though
"
God
were the
author of
sin,"
must
be
pronounced
false
and
pernicious
to men, as
well
as
injurious
to
the
justice of
God
;
for' these
notions throw a
vile
imputation
on
the
blessed
God,
and charge
him
with
heinous insin-
cerity,
to
forbid the commission
of
sin by all
these
ter
-
rors, and
yet
suppose
him
to
influence men to the prac-
tice
Of
them.
Reflexion
III. "
How
reasonable
is
it for
us
to
believe,
that
such
a
hell, as
I
have
described,
is
prepared
for impe-
nitent
sinners, since there
are
so
many
appearances
of
the
i
)oginnings
of
it here
on-
earth,"
so
many indications,
and
signs,
and forerunners of
such misery and,
torment
inflict-
ed on
sinful men
:
Survey the
remarkable executions
of
God's judgments on the
world in several
ages
and
na-
tions
;
look back to our
first
parents,
who were
thrust
out of
paradise, the garden
of
pleasure,
and
banished
from
the gates
of
it for
ever,
upon
the
account of
the first
ein,
and
the
entrance
of it
was
guarded
by a flaming sword
to forbid
their
return.
Behold
the
flood
of
watry ven-
geance in the days
of Noah
breaking
up from the
vast
caverns
of
the earth,
and
pouring
down from the win-
dows
of
heaven
to
punish sin:
"
Deep
calls
unto deep
;"
Ps.
xlii.
7.
in the
tremendous
noise
of
these
water
spouts,
--
which
spread death and desolation
over the
face
of
the
whole
earth,
because
all
flesh
had sinned against God
their
Creator.
Turn
your
eyes
to
Sodom and
Gomor-
rah, and
the cities
of
the plain,
"
suffering the vengeance
of
heaven
with
lightning
and devouring
fire
bursting from
the clouds
to
punish the
unnatural
crimes
of
that
coun-
try
;"
Gen.
xix. 24,
25, See
the fiery
flying
serpents,
as
the
messengers
of
divine anger, to punish the rebellion
of the Israelites
in
the
wilderness
:
Mark
what multi-
tudes
in
the camp
of Israel
received
their
mortal
sting,
and
were
given
up
to destruction and
death. Numb.
-xxi.
6.
Cast
your
eyes
abroad
over the nations,
and
what
records
have
we
of
all
former
ages, which do
not
"nazi-
tZ