is an abomination to his soul, that is, to his very essence, and essential holiness; and not sin only, but also the sinner. All that do such things, and all that do unrighteously, are an abomination to the Lord thy God. Him therefore whom he cannot bless with a participation of his favor, he separates from himself, and from his chosen people, and inflicts upon him that `punishment, which is the effect of his hatred. According to Solomon's reasoning, Every one that is proud in heart, is an abomination to the Lord. What then? He shall not be esteemed guiltless; he shall not be unpunished. David reasons in the same manner, Thou art not a God that hast pleasure in wickedness.§ Thou hatest sin, and the sinner too, because of it: Thou hatest all the workers of iniquity. What is the fruit of this hatred? Exceeding bitter: Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing. Thus from the holiness of God arises a hatred of sin and the sinner; and from hatred, punishment.

XXIX. 4. Without doubt it is diametrically opposite to the holiness of God, that he should become like unto the sinner. For since his image consists in perfect holiness, it is a contradiction, that his likeness should consist in sin. But if God should be unwilling to punish sin, he would then become like unto the sinner. This he himself teaches us: when he would tell the sinner, Thou thoughtest that I would not punish thy sin, he thus expresses it; Tbou thoughtest that I was altogether like thyself. But, says he, I will shew the contrary. And how? I will reprove thee, or punish thee. And so by that fact I will shew, that I am not like unto thee. Whence I conclude, that to be unwilling to punish sin, is being very like the sinner. On the contrary, to punish sin, in its proper time, is to shew himself most unlike the sinner. Therefore, unless God reproves the sinner, he will be like to him, and deny himself. For, since God is a *Prov. vi. 16. † Deut. xxv. 16. + Prov. xvi. 5. §. Pfal. v ¶ Pfal. 1. 21.

4, 3, 6.

pattern to man, and man was made in order that God may be glorified in him; and all things which God hath made, have a tendency to this, that man may from them know what a God he is: if God should by no method shew, that sin deprives man of communion with God and of his kingdom; nay, should he make the sinner eternally happy, to be accounted unworthy of which is the greatest punishment, God would certainly in that case testify, that he is not worthy to be loved, desired, and glorified, and that sin is not an object unworthy of man's delight. As far as it is impossible then, that God should be altogether like the sinner, so far it is impossible, that he should let sin go unpunished.

XXX. 5. Hence it is that God says, he is sanctified, when he requires punishment, Lev. x. 3. On which place, Crellius himself* makes this annotation : "Which some learned men explain," (and he himself agrees with them) "I shall appear holy," that is, "shall inflict punishment on them." The same thing he owns in the same chapter, "that neither the holiess, nor the majesty of God can in any respect bear to have his commands violated with impunity." Such is the power of truth, that it even breaks forth from the most refractory hearts. And the sense of this word is very evident, Ezek. xxxviii..16. where the punishment of God is foretold in these words: That the Heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, viz. by the punishment, before their eyes: more clearly still, Isa. v. 16. God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness, by inflicting on sinners the punishment threatened in the foregoing verses, and by not pardoning the elect, unless on account of the righteousness of Christ, in whose sufferings and death he displayed his most unspotted holiness, and his hatred of sin, before the whole world, nay, even before hell itself. It is therefore as necessary, that God should take punishment on sin, as that he should be * De vera relig. lib. i. c. 28,

holy, lest he should seem to give up with his holiness. I shall conclude in the words of Joshua,* He is a holy God. What then? He is a jealous God. And what does he infer thence? He will not forgive your transgressions, nor your sins. Thus from his holiness flows his jealousy; from his jealousy, his vengeance.

XXXI. Thirdly, This may also be inferred from that attribute of God, which is usually called vindictive justice. That it is the property of this to punish sin, the scripture tells us in a hundred places; and heritics impudently cavil, when they assert it to be the work, not so much of divine justice, as of wrath and passion. They unadvisedly disjoin what the apostle has conjoined, who speaks of the day of wrath, and of the righteous judgment of God.† And what is God's wrath other than that ready disposition of the divine mind to do that which his hatred of sin, justice toward the sinner, and his character as the supreme Judge, do require? I omit a thousand other considerations, which are every where obvious. I shall rather shew, where the hinge of the matter turns. That this perfection is as natural to God, as infinity, holiness, omnipotence. 2. That in virtue of it, God cannot suffer sin to go unpunished.

1.

XXXII. The former of these I thus prove. That this must be ascribed, not to the indifferent will of God, but to the nature and essence of God, under the opposite of which it is a contradiction to conceive of him. But it is contradictory to conceive of God under the opposite of just, that is as unjust. But it is not contradictory, if I conceive of God under the contraries of those things, which depend on the mere good pleasure of his will. For instance, it proceeded from the free will and pleasure of God, that he formerly chose Israel for his peculiar people. If therefore I conceive of God, as one who never was the God of Israel, I shall doubtless have formed a false conception, but nothing that, by an evident contra* Chap. xxiv. 19. † Rom. ii. 5. Job xxxiv. 10.

diction, destroys the nature of God. For he might have been God, and yet not the God of Israel; but, if he had so pleased, the God of the Egyptians or Chaldeans. But whoever says, that God is, and at that same time says that he is unjust, speaks contradictory things. For the first conception of the Deity is, that he is perfectly and infinitely good. Justice belongs to this goodness, giving to every one his due, by a suitable compensation, especially in him, who, as he is the Lord of rational creatures, so he cannot but be their judge. Whoever therefore says, that any is unjust, or not just, denies such to be God, of whom he thus speaks.

XXXIII. The latter I make out thus. Whatever is the righteous judgment of God, that the justice of God requires should be done : it is necessary, that God do himself justice; who properly speaking owes nothing to any one, but to himself. As that is the judg ment (righteousness) of the law, which the law demands, and which without justice cannot be denied the law; the judgment of God is what the law requires, and cannot be denied him, unless he would be unjust to himself. But it is the judgment of God that they which do evil, are worthy of death † Therefore there is a connection between sin and the desert of death, not only in virtue of the will, but also of the justice of God. Moreover, as the judgment of God is always according to truth, he must pronounce the person who is worthy of death, worthy of it, and unworthy of life, consequently condemn him, unless a satisfaction intervene. To act otherwise, would be unworthy the

just God. The apostle intimates this,§ declaring,

that God hath set forth Christ to be a propitiation thro faith in his blood to declare his righteousness, that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. By which words he shews, if God should justify the ungodly, and admit him to happiness without *Rom. viii. 4. † Rom.i. 32. Rom. ii. 2. Rom. iii. 25, 26. §

the atonement of the blood of Christ, he would not be just, at least his justice would not be displayed.

XXXIV. Memorable especially is that which God. says in Jeremiah,* Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? The meaning is, shall I be Jehovah, and shall I not deny myself, if I bear with those things in my people? Nay, if there be any such a nation, shall I not punish it? It is impossible I should do this and that in virtue of my soul, that is of my very essential holiness and Deity. Should I have a divine soul, that is, a divine nature, and just, and not be avenged of sin? For the soul of God denotes the most holy nature of God, or, which is the same, the essential holiness of God. As appears from comparing Amos iv. 2. with Amos vi. 8. In the former it is said, The Lord hath sworn by his holiness: in the latter, The Lord hath sworn BENAPHSHO by (his soul) himself.

XXXV. Crellius therefore trifles,t when he ridicu lously says, that to punish is God's foreign and strange work; as if to shew mercy was God's proper work, but to exact punishment, his strange work. To that end wresting Is. 28, 21. that he may do his work, which he translates, his strange work: that he may work his work, foreign (or strange) is his work to him. We frankly own, that, by that foreign and strange work, we ought to understand his vengeance against the rebellious Jews. But it is said to be strange and foreign, in a quite different sense from what this perverter of scripture would have it. It was strange and foreign, because altogether uncommon and extraordinary. For it was to be a great tribulation, such as had not been since the beginning of the world to that time, Math. xxiv. Likewise, it might appear strange to any one, that God should do such a thing to a people in covenant with him, and loaded with so many benefits, examples equal to which he had not exhibited even amongst his enemies, who were strangers to his coveChap. ix.. 9. 29. De vera relig. 1. i. c. 28.

21.