SERM that infallibly attends it: For to fupXI. pofe Evil without this is to fuppofe God not infinitely wife and good.

Now if there are the fame Proportions between every two Men in the World, as there is between a Man and himself, as there certainly are, for what are all the Men upon Earth, but the General Man, or Human Nature, fplit abroad into Individuals, fecondly, no one can offer any Injury to another without doing an Injury to himself; for Punishment, which is the natural Reaction to Evil, will of course operate back upon him. Thus Vengeance which is every injur'd Perfon's Right in a State of Nature, when Men are form'd into Societies, is lodg'd in other Hands, who deal it out as well as they can, in proportion to the Injuries or Evils committed. But because all human Knowledge is vaftly imperfect, and therefore cannot allot to every Crime the fpecific Vengeance that is due to it; and because every Injury or Evil a Man does to another, not only operates back upon himself, but flies directly up to God, as hurting or wounding him in his Image, he has taken Care to fupply the Defects of human Injustice by allotting to every Crime its due proportion'd

Punishment;

SERM.

Punishment; and he, who knows the true Springs and Movements of every XI. Action, who knows every minute Degree of Good or Evil that is in them, knows how to deal out his Rewards and Punishments in exact Proportion : And because every Evil, as it endeavours to poifon Good, is an Attempt to pollute the very Fountain of Good, hence it is, that God looks upon every Evil a Man does himself, or another, or the Society, as done to him, and will certainly punish it accordingly. And of this every Sinner is fenfible, and is fufficiently inform'd by the Remorfe that attends his evil Action, which is the Beginning of the Vengeance that will follow them; and which is a gracious wife Provifion God has made to controul Evil, and at the fame Time to make Reparation to Justice; for the Remorfe that attends an evil Action is a Punishment of it, and from the Senfe every one has, that there is a Punishment due to Sin, and will certainly one Time or other overtake him, if not in this Life, where he can have only his Proportion of Chance, yet in the next, where all Chance will be turn'd into Certainty, there arifes a well-grounded Fear, which is a continual Check to the Evil, and keeps the moral World upon its true Bafis. Thus you fee the Con

nexion

XI.

SERM. nexion there is between Sin and Punishment; that Sin carries its own Punishment along with it. The Confcience as it is equal to a thoufand Witneffes, fo is it to a thoufand Torments; and indeed, the Punishment that is felt here is very often fo great, that People fometimes chufe rather to part with their very Beings than undergo it; and that over and above this, Sin will meet with Punishment from Men, as far as it comes within their Cognizance: But however this be, all Evil is Enmity to Good, fo it is more especially to the Author and and Fountain, and flies directly to the Throne of God for Vengeance.

But perhaps the Sinner thinks to escape the Punishment that is due to him: But how will he do this? Can he think of doing Evil to a Society, and not expect to be punish'd by the Society for it? And fuppofe he does, and by leaving it flies from Juftice, yet how will he fly from himself? he may indeed leave one Country, and fly into another, yet unless he could leave his Mind behind him, he could never be the further remov'd from Punishment; for that will always hang as a dead Weight upon him, and accompany him in the remoteft Climate: He has no Right to Joy, he is incapable of Happiness; for upon the whole Evil is

due

due to him. In vain then are all the SERM. beauteous Objects of Art or Nature pre- XI. fented to his Sight, fince the troubled Mind, like the Jaundic'd Eye, paints. a falfe Colour upon them all; pleafing Sounds are no longer grateful to the Ear, nor delicious Meats to the Tafte, it is all horrid Difcord and Confufion; every thing without correfponds exactly with the Mind within, and confpires to punish the Man. But fuppofe he could fly from himself too, and that all within was smooth and ferene, yet how will he be able to fly from God? Where can he go, that he cannot find him out, to whom all Hearts are open, and from whom no Secrets are hid? Will be climb up to Heaven, he is there; and if be go down to Hell, he is there alfo; if he take the Wings of the Morning, and remain in the uttermoft Parts of the Sea, even there also be shall not avoid his Prefence; if he fays peradventure the Darkness fhall cover him, then hall his Night be turned to Day; for the Darknefs is no Darkness with him, but the Night is as clear as the Day, the Darknefs and the Light to him are both alike. So that tho' he could elcape every thing elfe, he cannot fly from a Being that is every where prefent, nor from the Vengeance, which every Sin calls to him for, I i and

XI.

SERM. and which he will certainly punish, as Governor of the Universe, to preferve the due Order and Goverment of the whole, and that Good may prevail, and triumph over Evil. For could we fuppofe Sin to go unpunifh'd, and every Man, and every Action of Man, had not Justice done them, we no longer fuppofe God to be at the Head of things; or elfe that Juftce and Judgment are not the Habitation of his Throne; for this one Irregularity argues a Male-Administration, and is inconfiftent with all the Notions we have of infinite Wisdom, Goodness, and Juftice.

Thirdly, But now, if every Sin flies to Heaven, and calls to God for Vengeance, Sins of a more heinous Nature, fuch as Murder, must do fo in a more extraordinary Manner: That affumes of courfe a louder, and more importunate Voice; as it is in the first Place an Injury done to God himself; for it is killing him, as far as we are able to do it, i. e. in his Image; it is ftriking at the very Deity it felf; and wrefting that Vengeance out of his Hands, which belongs to him, as Govenour of the Univerfe; befides the Injury done to Human Nature itself, and confequently to every one that partakes of it, to the Society efpecially, to which a Man belongs, by cutting off a Member of

it,