wicked. We conceive of no way, in which God's anger with sinners can become visible; or, in which his rectoral government can correspond with his holy law; unless natural evil be inflicted on the offender, or on some other person, to whom the offender stands in such a relation, that he himself appears to be the object of displeasure.

IF this be so, it must be manifest, that, if the sinner be forgiven and received to favor without any atonement being made for his sins, it must be on the ground, that neither the glory of God, nor the good of his moral kingdom, require any expression of God's anger with him :-For, we may be assured, that the great and holy God will never do any thing which shall be inconsistent with his own glory, and the best and highest good of his moral kingdom.

FROM such an hypothesis as this, the following consequences naturally result, viz.

1. THAT threatenings are unnecessary and useless. Where evil need not be executed, it never need be threatened. We see no valuable end answered by threatenings, which never need be executed. When executions are unnecessary, threatenings are equally so-yea, more; in as much as threatenings, which never are designed to be executed, and never need be, necessarily sink the character of the ruler, and bring his authority into contempt. It cannot but be seen, that, if the glory of God do not require him to execute, neither does it, to threaten. All objections, therefore, against the necessity of atonement in order to the pardon and salvation of sinners, lie with equal weight against every threatening we find in the book of God.

2. Ir it be so, that the character and glory of God require, neither executions nor threatenings, it must

appear, that the sanctions of his holy law are unnecessary-Or, rather, that the holy law of God is, in fact, without sanctions. Of what use, then is a law, or can it be, in the government of God? What can be the benefit of a law, (if, indeed, there can be a law) without penal sanctions? It can suggest no motive to obedience from the consideration of any good as its reward; nor, restrain from disobedience, by the fear of evil. That indeed, can, with no propriety, be termed a law, which has no sanctions—which does not enforce duty by the consideration of the good and evil consequences, which shall follow obedience and the re

verse.

3. Ir it be unnecessary that God manifest anger against sin and the sinner, it must be unnecessary that any such affection exist in the divine mind-And, on this hypothesis, we can, surely, have no evidence that it does. It must be clear that, if, neither the glory of God, nor the good of his kingdom, require a manifes tation of divine displeasure where moral evil is actually committed; neither do they require the existence of any such displeasure. It cannot be seen how it will be for the glory of God to entertain an anger, which it will not be for his glory to express. It must be obvious, that the good of God's moral kingdom re"quires the existence of nothing in his mind and character, which, it will not be for the good of this kingdom, should be exhibited and become manifest in his government. If any thing of this nature exist in the divine mind, (of which, however, we can have no manner of evidence,) it neither is, nor can be, beneficial to the system-Therefore, not a perfection-not a beauty in the character of God. And if there be any instance of moral evil against which it is unnecessary, that divine displeasure be witnessed; we can see no reason why it is not unnecessary in every case—And, in this short way, arrive at the conclusion, that no such

affection as anger with any of his creatures has any place in the divine mind.

IF, therefore, sin be forgiven and passed over in any instance without an atonement, we see not why it should be thought injurious to the divine character, that all sin be passed over without punishment. The salvation of even one sinner, without visible testimonies of the abhorrence, in which his character is holden by the righteous Judge, evidently sets aside the necessity of such testimony in any case whatever. And we may safely confide in it, that that God, who has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, will never inflict unnecessary punishment.

On the principle, therefore, that sin may be forgiven without an atonement, we can see no reason to believe there ever will be any future punishments-The necessity of them being evidently set aside by the supposition, that pardons may in this absolute manner be, in any instance, bestowed. To this conclusion, the reasonings of those, who deny the Divinity of Christ, naturally lead-In this, their principles terminate And to this conclusion, as the result of their reasonings, they, probably, mean to come. The doctrine of the Divinity of the Saviour, and of the salvation of sinners through an atonement made by his blood, is too nearly related, and stands too closely connected with that of eternal punishments, to be admitted by such as wish to get rid of the latter. For this reason it, probably, is, that it is so strenuously urged, by ma ny, that the Lord Jesus is but a mere creature.

4. Ir must follow, from the preceding observations, that, if any sinner be finally saved, without an atonement made for his sins, his character is not holden in such divine abhorrence as cannot be adequately expressed in any finite punishment. And, if God be

Q

stow, on any of the human race, all the blessings and good, which any can imagine will be the reward of the most uncorrupt virtue and innocence; nothing will remain, on the principle before us, from which his abhorrence of their characters can be inferred. When the treatment any one receives, without, at the same time, any manifestation of God's displeasure with him, is the same as that of the righteous, whence shall it be inferred, that his character is viewed in a less favorable light! And, as has been before observ. ed, there can be no ground to conclude, that he experiences mercy, and is saved by grace.

5. Ir must appear still further, on the principle that men are saved without any atonement, that there is in fact, no evidence that God is offended with them-at least, to a degree that endangers their future and eternal peace. Where there is no exhibition or manifestation of divine displeasure, there can be no evidence, that any displeasure exists. Whoever of mankind entertains a hope of being made finally and everlastingly happy, no witness being given by natural evils, that the Great God holds his character in infinite ab. horrence; must do it on the ground, that God has no such abhorrence of him :-he can have no other. And should any one be on this ground spared and saved, it cannot be, that he should have any apprehension, that his salvation is by grace-That it is a fruit of mere undeserved mercy and grace.

WITH good reason, therefore, may it be concluded, that such as expect finally to meet the favor of God, and yet deny, both the Divinity of Christ, and the necessity of atonement, found their hopes, not on the mercy of God-not on any thing the holy Scriptures term grace-but, on an apprehension, that they, neither do nor can deserve eternal evil at the hand of God. And for the same reason, that one may expect

to be saved on this ground, another may; and so may all mankind. And, if this be the true ground, on which any one of the human race will be saved from eternal destruction, it may safely be concluded, that no monuments will be ever made of God's eternal displeasure.

SHOULD such sentiments be found to be the true doctrine of the word of God, a disbelief of the Divin ity of Christ, and of atonement, whatever may have been thought the sense of the holy scriptures on these important subjects, will endanger no man's future peace and tranquillity. But, on the other hand, if eternal punishment will express no more than the displeasure, which the just God really has against sinful men; a rejection of these interesting and important truths, must certainly prove fatal.

To admit, that mankind are, universally, sinners and exposed to endless evil from the hand of God; and that, no atonement being made, all, or even any, will be finally saved; naturally leads to a disregard of the threatenings of God's holy word-And, indeed, to their being treated with contempt. And, if the threatenings of the word of God may be disregarded, it will be evident, that they neither suggest motives to oberlience, nor arguments against it. And, if the threatenings we find in the oracles of God may be disregarded, so may the promises: For, they are, both, from one and the same mouth, and rest on the same foundation. We may as well suppose, there may be instances wherein the latter may fail of fulfilment, as the former of execution. If God's hatred of iniquity may, in any instance, fail of being expressed; so, also, may his love of righteousness-For it is the same, uniform, disposition, which is exercised in the love of righteousness, and hatred of iniquity. If it may consist with the character of God and the stability and