foul hates; upon the wicked God fhall rain forms of fire and brimftone, and an horrible tempeft; this shall be the portion of their cup. Pf. xxxiv. 2. Evil fhall flay the wicked, they shall perish in their own iniquity; that which is their affectation, fhall be their ruin and deftruction. Pf. xxxvii, 9. Evil doers fhall be cut off; yet a little while and the wicked shall not be, they that look for him fhall not find him; ver. 36. I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay-tree, but fuddenly he paffed away, and he was not ; I fought him, but he could not be found. To one in the ftate of wickedness a man cannot fay, God fpeed, nor wifh him well in the name of the Lord. In this. cafe we may pray against him, that God would fruftrate and disappoint him. Pf. lix. 5. Be not mer ciful to any wicked tranfgreffor, i. e. so far as he is wicked, confound him in all his contrivances; but we may and ought to pray that God would give him. repentance. Pf. lvii. 8. In the hand of the Lord is a cup full of mixture, and he poureth out of the fame, but the dregs of it all the wicked of the earth shall wring out and drink them. Pf. xcii. 7. When the wicked spring up like grafs, when the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is but for a while, it is but in fhew, for it is that they may be deftroyed for ever. This is the confequent upon it, but not in God's intention; for when he does plague, he intends a reformation. Pf. cxix. 119. He putteth away all the wicked of the earth like drops. Pf. cxxxix. 19. Surely thou wilt flay the wicked, O Lord. Pf. cxlv. 6. He cafteth the wicked down to the ground. Thus we fee out of the book of Pfalms,. how God does declare himself against the impiety of

the

the world, the wickednefs and profanenefs of men, Add to thefe fome places out of the Proverbs. Prov. ii. 22. The wicked shall be cut off from the earth, tranfgreffors fhall be rooted out of it. These men promife themfelves a portion here, and think to thrive in the world, but Wisdom fays they fhall be cut off from the earth, there shall be no enjoyment for them, no not in this ftate. Prov. x. 7. The name of the wicked fhall rot; while he lives, he is a burden upon earth; and when he is gone, his memory fhall perish, ver. 24. as the whirlwind paffeth away, fo is the wicked no more, Prov. xi. 5. The wicked fall fall by his own wickedness. ver. 31. the righteous fhall be recompenced on the earth, much more the wicked and the finner. All good men have God's promife, but obferve what the wife man fays, much more the wicked and the finner; for if good men do not meet with things anfwerable to their goodness here, there is space enough in eternity for their reward; but it is much more requifite that the finner fhould fall under God's difpleafure here. Prov, xii. 21. The wicked fhall be filled with his own mischief, Prov. xiv. 32. The wicked fhall be driven away in his wickedness. Prov. xxi. 12. God overthroweth the wicked for their wickedness. I will not go on to other places, though others be equally pregnant in this particular,

But fome may fay, notwithstanding all these declarations, we do not find it fo in fact; for thofe that are wicked, injurious, and oppreffors, do thrive and profper, and many times carry the world before them. To this, I fay, we know not the length of God's patience, which is for our repentance; that is, an argument and inducement to it; in the intention of

God

God it is fo, who is not willing that any should perish, but that all fhould come to repentance: it were well if it were fo understood.

Some may fay, that all I have quoted, is out of the old teftament; but that under the gofpel, God is more known by his patience, grace and kindness, &c. But it does not become us to turn the grace of God into wantonnefs; therefore left any fhould make this an encouragement to go on in any wicked courfes, I will cite fome places out of the new teftament. St. Matth. xxv. 41. Depart from me, ye curfed, into everlafling fire, prepared for the devil and his angels; this is faid to the goats at Chrift's left hand: but who are they? You will find them to be unmerciful and uncharitable men. Rom. i. 18. The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrightequfness. Chap. ii. 5. Thou, through thy hardness and impenitent heart, treasurest up unto thyself wrath, against the day of wrath, and revelation of the righteous judgment of God. ver. 8. To them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, indignation and wrath; tribulation and anguish, upon every foul of man that doth evil. 2 Thef. i. 8, 9. He fhall come in flaming fire, to take vengeance upon them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jefus Chrift; who shall be punished with everlasting deftruction, from the prefence of God, and from the glory of his power. Thus does

the fcripture begin, thus it goes on and ends, Rev. xii. 15. without are dogs; who are thofe ? Sorcerers, whoremongers, murderers, and whofo loveth and maketh lie. And there is great reafon for all this; because

thefe

these men have made themselves enemies to God by wicked works, Col. i. 21.

All

I have heaped up thefe texts because atheists make the profperity of wicked men an argument against divine providence; and it is not fo in these days only, but it was fo of old. 2 Pet. iii. 4. The fcoffers that derided religion, made this an argument. things continue as they were; fo the Pfalmift says, PS. x. 13. They that contemn God, fay in their hearts, God bath forgotten, he does not fee, he will not require it, he is not concerned. And this has been a temptation to good men; Pf. lxxiii. 2. My feet were almost gone, because I was envious at the profperity of the wicked. So the prophet Jeremy, though he was well refolved that God was righteous in all his ways, yet, says, he, let me reafon with thee of thy jud ments; how is it that the wicked man profpers, that he is exalted that deals very treacherously? It may be fo for a while, but then they have their portion in this life; yet there is no fecurity for none of them know what a day may bring forth. Alfo this is but a preparatory ftate; the excellency of this state lies in this, that it is a probation and preparation for eternity; another state is to come after this. Alfo judgment is not the proper work of a day of grace. Laftly, God does not reckon time as we do; for one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day, 2 Pet. iii. 8. These things I do but interpofe as comingh my way. That, for which I have heaped up fo many fcriptures, is to fhew how fully God declares himself against all wickednefs and finners; by which we are to understand those who are fettled in a way of wickedness. Yet

. Yet left I fhould difcourage any that are in motion to repentance, I must tell you, that to be wicked, to be a finner, an evil-doer, a worker of iniquity, are things of deep denomination in fcripture, and do not take in those who from weaknefs, imperfection and indifpofition at times, or from miftakes or mif apprehenfions, or errors in judgment, are overtaken with fin; never is any one from thefe deemed an evil perfon, a finner or worker of iniquity; fo that we are not all finners in fcripture fenfe. See how the fcripture denominates finners, Gen. xiii. 13. The Sodomites were wicked finners before the Lord; thefe were a fort of perfons fo monftrous and unnatural, that their fins are not fit to be named in a chriftian congregation; these are faid to be finners before the Lord. And this is the firft time we meet with the word finners in fcripture: the second time is in Num. xvi. 38. Sinners against their own fouls; this refers to Corah, Dathan and Abiram; who rofe up against the very institution of God, and pretended that all the people of the Lord were holy. The third time I meet with this denomination, finner, is, I Sam. xv. 18. Utterly deftroy thofe finners the Amalekites, fuch as God had appointed to deftruction. To go on, Pf. i. 3. The good man is faid, not to ftand in the way of finners, Pf. xxvi. 19. Gather not my foul with finners, nor my life with blood-thirfly men. Pf. civ. 1o. Let finners be confumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Prov. i. 10. If finners entice thee, confent thou not; you know what is meant by the ftrange woman in the Proverbs of Solomon; perfons of defperate wickednefs, that have fold themfelves to do

wickedly;