ercise towards sinners? Does he exercise the love of complacence towards them? by no means; for he hates all the workers or iniquity. They are not proper objects of approbation, or complacence, but of disapprobation and hatred. It is, therefore, only the love of of benevolence, that God exercises towards totally depraved sinners. He loves all his creatures, whether rational or irrational, whether holy or sinful, with the love of benevolence; that is, he really desires that all may be happy, rather than miserable, simply considered. He views sinners as capable of everlasting happiness, or of everlasting misery; and he desires their everlasting happiness, simply considered, rather than their everlasting misery, simply considered. So he expressly declares under the solemnity of an oath, "As. I

:

live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that he turn from his way and live turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die ?" Here God expresses his love of benevolence to sinners, but not his love of complacence, unless they turn from their evil ways and become penitent and holy. It was true, at the moment that God made this declaration to sinners, that he both loved and hated them. And this was perfectly consistent. For if he loved them with the love of benevolence he could not love them with the love of complacence. Benevolence hates selfish and sinful creatures, as much as it loves holy and virtuous creatures. The perfect benevolence of God produces both love and hatred. It produces love to holy creatures and hatred to unholy, or sinful creatures. The more holy God is, the more he loves holiness in men; and the more holy he is, the more he hates unholiness, or sinfulness in men. Holiness in the Deity produces love to the holy and hatred to the unholy. And holiness in men produces the same directly contrary effects. Holy men love holy men and hate unholy ones. David loved saints as the excellent of the earth, in whom was all his delight, but prayed, that God would not gather his soul with the wicked, whom he says to God he hated. "Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate thee? and am I not

grieved with those, that rise up against thee? I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them mine enemies." But with all this hatred to the wicked, he says he loved them with the love of benevolence; and sincerely prayed for them, when in trouble and distress, as though they were his friends and brethren.--There are two things in sinners, which render them objects of both love and hatred. Their capacity to enjoy happiness and suffer misery, renders them proper objects of benevolence; and their sinful character renders them proper objects of displeasure, disapprobation and hatred. God views them in both these lights; and his perfect benevolence disposes him to love and hate them at the same time. His love towards them is benevolent love; and his hatred towards them is benevolent hatred. If God's hatred of sinners arose from selfishness, it would be totally inconsistent with his having any benevolent love towards them. The hatred of sinners towards one another arises from selfishness; and consequently is inconsistent with their having true benevolence to each other. But God has no selfishness and never loves or hates, from selfish motives. He is as benevolent in hating, as in loving sinners. The same pure, perfect, disinterested benevolence in God, necessarily disposes him to exercise complacency towards saints, and displeasure, displacency and hatred towards sinners. The distinction between God's love of benevolence and love of complacence is no arbitrary distinction, but founded in the nature of things. It is morally impossible, that God should exercise true benevolence towards saints and not exercise complacency towards them at the same time. And it is no less impossible, that God should exercise true benevolence towards sinners and not exercise displeasure, displacency and hatred towards them at the same time. It is not only consistent, that God should exercise benevolence towards sinners and at the same time exercise displeasure, displacency and hatred towards them; but it is absolutely necessary that he should both love and hate them at

the same time. And whoever makes and understands the essential distinction between the love of benevolence and the love of complacency in the Deity, cannot help seeing; that God must exercise the love of benevolence towards sinners, while he exercises perfect displeasure, displacency and hatred towards their depraved and selish characters. And of course,

he must see that all the declarations of God's love towards them, in sending his Son to redeem and save them, are consistent with all his declarations of hatred, anger and wrath towards them, for all their selfishness, impenitence, unbelief and disobedience. God's benevolence towards sinners affords no argument to prove, that he loves them with the love of complacency, but a conclusive argument to prove, that he hates them. Who can imagine, that a virtuous and religious parent who loves all his children with the love of true benevolence, should love them all with equal love of complacence, when some are dutiful and obedient, but others are undutiful and disobedient ? And who can suppose, that the kind Parent of the universe, who loves all his creatures with pure and impartial benevolence, should love them all with equal complacence, while some love him and others hate him, while some obey him and others disobey him, while some are perfectly holy and others perfectly unholy and rebellious? The distinction between the love of benevolence and the love of complacency is agreeable to common sense; and every person of common sense is capable of seeing it and does see it, in respect to mankind. A child seven years old can see the benevolence of his parent towards him, while he expresses his displeasure, his anger and his disposition to punish him for his wicked conduct. But still many men of more than common sense and common learning, either cannot, or will not see this distinction; and endeavor to prove God's love of complacency towards sinners, from his love of benevolence towards them, in sending his Son to die for them and in loading them with the blessings of providence and giving them the offers of mercy.

IMPROVEMENT.

1. If God's hatred of impenitent sinners is consistent with his love of benevolence towards them; then it is consistent with his benevolence to hate them as long as they continue impenitent. If they continue impenitent as long as they live, then it is consistent with his benevolence to hate them as long as they live. If they continue impenitent in a dying hour, then it is consistent with his benevolence to hate them in a dying hour. If they continue impenitent after death, it is consistent with his benevolence to hate them after death. And if they should continue impenitent to all eternity, it is consistent with his benevolence to hate them to all eternity. His hatred towards them must continue as long as they continue hateful objects; and they certainly continue hateful objects, as long as they continue depraved and impenitent. God's benevolence towards them will never produce complacency towards them; but on the contrary, it must necessarily produce displacency and hatred towards them. Some, indeed, imagine that though sinners remain impenitent in this world, they will become penitent in another world and then God's hatred and displeasure towards them will

cease.

tural.

This supposition is neither rational, nor scripThere is no reason to think, that sinners will be more pleased with the character of God, when it is more fully unfolded in another world, than with it in this world; but will hate it the more, the more clearly they see it; and their greater hatred to God will have no tendency to lead them to repentance for bating him. And though God has promised to make saints meet for the inheritance of heaven; yet he has made no promise, that he will prepare impenitent sinners for the kingdom of glory. But it is expressly said, that if they die vile, they shall remain vile; if they die unholy they shall remain unholy. And as long as they remain unholy, they must remain hateful objects in the sight of God, whose perfect benevolence hates and abhors all unholy creatures, And as God's hatred of

than that his holy wrath should be pointed against them and fall upon them. The scripture speaks of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God; but these strong expressions but faintly represent the greatness of that wrath of God, which abides upon impenitent sinners every day, notwithstanding all the displays of benevolence towards them in the course of his providence. Indeed, all the indications of his benevolence are equal indications of his wrath and displeasure towards them, because his wrath flows from and is equal to his infinite benevolence.

3. If impenitent sinners themselves are as much the objects of God's hatred, as of his love; then it is very important, that they should be made sensible of it.They are willing to believe, that God loves them ; and they love to hear of the astonishing love of benevolence towards them, displayed in sending his Son to die for them and in lavishing upon them the blessings of providence. But they are not so willing to believe, that God hates them as much as he loves them; and they are as unwilling to hear this disagreeable truth inculcated upon them. Hence they love to hear ministers preach upon the marvellous love of God towards them; but cannot bear to hear ministers preach upon God's holy and just displeasure and wrath against them.---They can bear to hear, that God hates depravity, selfishness, impenitence, unbelief, disobedience and rebellion in the abstract. But it is not true, that God hates these sins in the abstract and as separate from sinners themselves. He hates sinners themselves, who are depraved, who are selfish, who are impenitent, who are unbelieving, who are disobedient and who are rebellious. Christ did not preach about sin in the abstract, as being an object of God's displeasure; but about sinners themselves being the objects of God's displeasure. He told them, that they were of their father the devil and felt and acted as he did; that they had both seen and hated both him and his Father; and that they were serpents and a generation of vipers, who deserved the damnation of hell. This they disliked