Vol. II. intolerable as 'tis represented. It can ~ never become God to threaten what it : will not become him to execute. If the Punishment be in it felf unjust and unreasonable, it can never become the Governour of the World to enact and establish his Laws by such a Sanction; but if it be just and reasonable, God will ever be the fame, his Nature is immutable, and there can be no Ground to think that God will not exercise Justice, when the Day of Grace, the Day of Mercy is past. J us 3dly, We are hence taught what a Value we ought to fet upon our Redemption by Chrift. To redeem from the Dominion of Iniquity, to redeem us from the Wrath to come, how unspeakable a Mercy was this? Ah, were the Eyes of our Understanding enlighten'd, were our Hearts purify'd, that we could discover all the Deformities of Sin, that we could truly fee it as it is! Ah, were we but strong in the Faith, that we had but a lively Idea and strong Perswasion of the Misery of the damn'd Spirits, and of the Bliss and Glory of the heavenly Inhabitants ! How should we rejoyce in the Lord? How How should we publish his wondrous Ser. VIWorks with the Voice of Thanksgiving? And how would the Love of CHRIST constrain us to live, not to our selves, 14, 15. but to Him who died for us, and rofe again! The End of the Sixth Sermon. 2 Cor. iv. Let no Man deceive you with vain Words, for because of these things cometh the Wrath of God upon the Children of difobedience. W : : ~ HAT the things are a-Vol. II. gainst which the Wrath of God is here denounced, is very plain from theContext, namely, the Vices of the Pagan World, the Works of Darkness, Uncleanness, Covetousness, corrupt Communication and fuch like. But here least any one imagining, that the K 3 Wrath 30% 134 Against what things the Wrath of God Luke Vol. II. Wrath of God is level'd only against scan~ dalous and enormous Crimes, should from thence infer, that he is not concern'd in my Text or Difcourse, (tho' indeed he be) for Men are very apt to think well of themselves, and with the Pharisee to thauk xviii. 11. God, that they are not like this or that Publicane, while in the mean time they Rev. iii. are in the state of the miferable Laodicean. 15. To prevent this I think fit to tell you from innumerable other Places of Scripture, that Hell is prepar'd as well for the Matt. 25. flothful and unprofitable as wicked Servant; that he who fools away Life shall as certainly perish, as he who confumes it in Rioting and Drunkenness, in Chambering and Wantonness; he that neglects and flights Religion as well as he, who is an open and profess'd Enemy to it. And hence it is, that the Apostle not content to have forbidden us the Works of Darkness in my Text, and the two Verses inmediately following it, he does in the Ninth Verse put us in mind of the Fruit of the Spirit, For the Fruit of the Spirit is in all Goodness, and Righteousness and Truth. And this he does to let us know, that to secure our selves from the Wrath to come, tis not enough not to do Evil, but we must do good; 'tis not enough not to walk as Children of Darkness, but we must walk as |