QUESTIONXIII. 337 to balance it : Now what equal advantage is there to balance this severer punishment, if there be not some conditional hope of their recovery from the misery of their fallen state, upon suppo- sition that they sincerely endeavour to perform all the duties of this new covenant, as far as the revelation of them comes within their notice ; that is, that they repent of their sins, and trust in thedivine grace and forgiveness, in order to their acceptance. Our Lord Jesus Christ, the righteous and appointed Judge, will never give occasion for anyof all the miserable multitude to say, that they are condemned to an endless punishment in their new-raised bodies, for breaking God's original law of innocency, which punishment was never threatened in that law. He will never give them reason to complain, that, with regard to them, he came not to be a Mediator or a Saviour, but merely to add to their misery, by a resurrection to eternal pain, without any equivalent of hope.:: Or that he came to expose them to double damnation for refusing his grace, when he had none for them to accept. The goodness and -equity of God, and his Son, will never suffer such an imputation to fall upon any part of their transactions : And as they have both agreed in pronouncing these words; John iii. 17. God sent not his Sou into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through himmight be saved*; theywill both agree also in such a conduct, as shall not so much as appear to run counter to such a solemn expression of grace, or to thecommon notions and rules of justice. Since therefore it appears pretty evident, that Jesus, the righteous Judge, will not condemn sinners for refusing that grace and that salvation, whichhad no reality in things, and which was never really offeredto their acceptance, nor so much as provided; and since he will never punish sinners by the mere law or cove- nant of works, with the punishment of a resurrection of the body, which were never threatened nor included in that law or covenant ; we must conclude, according to the representation of scripture, according to the rules of justice, and the reason of things, that there must be some other covenant, some covenant of grace and salvation, under which all men are situated, and which has really been offered to all mankind, either in clearer or in more obscure notices thereof ; such a covenant, whereby the resurrection of the body to eternal happiness, is the appointed reward of those who receive this offered salvation ; and whereby the resurrection of the body to eternal misery, is the appointed punishment of those who refuse to comply with the grace of thatdispensation under which they are placed, and neglect to * if the word world in the two or three first places, signifies mankindwithout distinction, why should the world in the last place signify only the elect? Is not a conditional or indefinitive salvation here intimated to be provided for mankind, whether they be Jews or Gentiles. z3
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