QUËSTION í . 321 have hoped for from their Maker against hew temptations and new dangers of sinning; so that God may leave man to his own, evil appetites, and the inclinations of his corrupt heart; and then lie has only the natural powers of his understanding and conscience left him to resist temptations from within and without, Which powers are naturally darkened and weakenedby his fail. III: Man having once. broke the law of his Maker and vio- lated his allegiance to the universal Governor of the world, bath for ever deprived himself of all hope of obtaining or recovering any-special favours from his Maker bypérfect obedience; for he can never undo the evil that he hail done: Ile who bath sinned but once, can never more plead innocence, or acquire a right to any blessing which he might hope for if he had continued inno- cent and obedient. Whether this may be esteemed only as a natural consequent of sin, I will rot now dispute ; but it rather seems a penal forfeitureof all his hopes, and of his Maker's further favours. And this hope of favour from his Maker and his God, to be obtained by perfect obedience, is still put further outof the reach of man, when it is evident he continues to prac- tise disobedience? and multiplies his offences against God, his Maker, in the course of life. IV. Man having sinned against a Being so greatly superior to himself in worth and excellency, as well as in authority, he could never do or suffer any thing by way of recompence or .penalty, that would make full atonement or satisfaction to God for hisoffence. I. All that he could do, it a way of obedience ` or service for time to come, would be ríó more than his duty which he owes to his Maker by the law of nature ; and if he had not sinned, God has a right to all his duty ; and therefore future obedience could never atone for a past sin. 2.. All that man . could suffer would make no satisfaction for the offence: For if offences amongst our fellow-creatures of different characters, such as a neighbour, a brother, a father, a king, are aggravated according to the character and dignity ofthe person offended; then the offence against God is as highly 'aggravated above all offences of fellow-creatures, as the nature of God is superior tò the nature of creatures: And if this be so, then every offence against an infinite God, carries a sort of infinity in the nature of it : And divine wisdom only can fix the proper punishment for such offences; though divine goodnessmay join with wisdoìn, to set the actual limits of it. Y. But thus much we may infer by our own reason, with more evidence and certainty, that man by his sin against his Maker, has forfeited all his Maker's benefits. The great God having given man all that be has, viz. his nature and existence, the life of his bodyand soul, all his powers, his comforts and his. hopes, and this God being offended and provoked by the sin of Yor. tv.
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