ters, but they should go into cap tivity--fhould be given unto another people,and that they fhould eat the fruit of their own bodies.' And thus their children would fuffer on account of the wickedness of their parents, and of the nation at large; which has already come to pafs.

tion; the fish of the river died, and the foldiers, captains and the whole army were deftroyed. God reckoned with them as he had foretold to Abraham that he would do, when he faid, Know of a furety, that thy feed fhall be a ftranger in a land that is not theirs, and fhall ferve them, and they fhall afflict them four hundred The children of Korah and his years and alfe that nation whom party were all swallowed up in they shall ferve will I judge.' the opening earth, on account of By this it appears, that all the the fins of their parents. Fearafflictions of the Ifraelites for fev-ful judgments were denounced on eral generations, were remembered the pofterity of Eli, to remote in judgment against the genera-generations, on account of the intion of Egyptians which lived in iquity of his houfe, which conthe days of Mofes. God had tinued to be accomplished till the become weary of withholding, reign of Solomon, when Abiaand brought his judgments upon thar was thruft out from being a them, for all the cruelties which prieft unto the Lord. Ifrael had received for ages paft.

The commiffion which God gave to Mofes and his fucceffors against the Canaanites, was to cut off every man, woman and child: and it was exprefsly given on account of the wickedness of thofe nations, which had been accumulating for ages. In the days of Abraham God faid, The iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.' And he gave this as the reafon why his pofterity fhould not poffefs their land which was promifed, until the fourth generation. At that time it had become full, and divine forbearance could continue no longer, And God commanded his people to exterminate them all-root and branch. Here God vifited the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and reckoned with them for their national wickedness, which had been increafing for ages.

When Ifrael came out of Egypt, the Amalekites assaulted them, for which their pofterity fuffered fo long after as the reign of Saul.

'Samuel alfo faid unto Saul, Thus faith the Lord of hofts, I remember that which Amalek did to Ifrael, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. Now go, and fmite Amalek, and utterly deftroy all that they have, and fpare them not; but flay both man and woman, infant and fuckling, ox and fheep, camel and afs.' Five of Saul's pofterity were also hanged for his perfidioufnefs to the Gibeonites; and there was alfo a famine upon all Ifrael on that account, after Saul had long been dead.

Another striking example of this nature is the plague which was fo fore upon Ifrael, in confequence of the fin of David in Mofes alfo folemnly admonith- numbering them. No fewer than ed Ifrael,That if they should feventy thoufand died. David rebel against God, the fruit of was fenfible that it was in confe their bodies fhould be curfed-quence of his fins, as appears by they should beget fons and daugh- his interceffion that God would

Another evidence that Chrift intended to be understood, that the blood of the prophets fhould be required of that generation. It is evident from what actually did take place, before that generation paffed away. The Ro mans came and deftroyed the whole country, and fuch miferies and diftreffes came upon them as had no parallel on earth.

It may be alfo mentioned, that it is a matter of fact, continually before our eyes, that children fuffer in confequence of the fins of their parents, and people in confequence of the wickedness of rulers, &c. But enough has been faid to fix the meaning of the paffage of scripture under confideration.

punith him, and not the people, seventeen hundred years, fuffered in which he pleads for them, fay-for the fins of their fathers. They ing, But as for thefe fheep, what are caft out, and are a curse, have they done.' The fins of and a bye-word, according to the Manaffeh were vifited upon Judah prophecy of Mofes. Many more in the Babylonian captivity, long inftances might, were it neceffary, after he and his agents were dead. be mentioned; but I pafs to Jehoakim rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar, fo that the remnant of Judah might be deftroyed. Surely, fays God, at the commandment of the Lord came this upon Judah to deftroy it-to remove them out of his fight, for the fins of Manaffeh, according to all that he did, and alfo for the innocent blood that he fhed, (for he filled Jerufalem with innocent blood) which the Lord would not pardon.' Nehemiah alfo juftifies God in his wrath against Judah, on account of the fins of their kings, princes, priefts and fathers, who kept not the law of God, nor hearkened unto his commandments, which is affigned as the reafon of their captivity. One particular reafon given for the Babylonian captivity is, that the land of Judea might enjoy its Sabbaths. God commanded that every feventh year fhould be a Sabbath, and the land fhould not be tilled. But for four hundred and ninety years this command had been difregarded. The land had been fo long defrauded of its feventh-year Sabbaths, and we are told that the captivity was To fulfil the word of the Lord, by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths: for as long as the lay defolate fhely greater evils at the hand of kept Sabbaths, to fulfil threefcore God, than were inflicted in those and ten years.' So that at that defolations, by which God manicaptivity, that generation fuffered fefted his abhorrence of the fins for the fins of their ancestors, for of former generations. God viffour hundred and ninety years its the iniquities of the fathers back. upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate him. If there are any right.

Befides: The whole nation of the Jews have now, for more than

It remains to bow, that this mode of divine adminiftration is confiftent with perfect reditude, and is exceedingly glorious.

are

This mode of divine adminif tration is confiftent with perfect rectitude, becaufe no men punished, or fuffer in this way, any more than they perfonally deferve for their own fins. Every foul that perifhed in the deluge, Sodom, Egypt, Canaan, and at the final deftruction of Jerufalem, was a finner, and deferved infinite

than their fathers had ever done. Their measure of iniquity was increafing, until it became full, and it was highly neceffary that God fhould manifeft his difpleasure. God fixed upon the right generation to give the world a fample of his wrath, for all the wickednefs of the kind, which had taken place from the death of Abel.

cous, they are not punifhed, but | proceeded to much further lengths delivered like Noah, Lot, and the Christians at the deftruction of Jerufalem. It cannot be justly faid, that the fathers have eaten four grapes, and the children's teeth are fet on edge, in fuch a fenfe, as that they do not die for their own fin. This may be illuftrated by a familiar fimilitude. A few foldiers defert from an army, and are apprehended, but the commander, loath to punish, gives them all a pardon. Ho does this repeatedly; but at length defertions become frequent, and foldiers encourage themselves in it by his lenity. He finds it neceffary to make a public example, and the next that is apprehended fuffers. In this cafe, he fuffers only what he perfonally deferves; but he would have been pardoned, if it had not been for former defertions. He fuffers therefore in confequence of the fins of others, but not beyond what was due for his own conduct. So if there had been no perfecutions before the age in which Chrift was in the flesh, God would have dealt with that generation in a way of forbearance, as he dealt with former perfecutors; but fince perfecutions of the prophets had continued fo long in the world, it was high time that God fhould manifeft his displeasure, in the moft awful judgments. The fame obfervations will apply to those who perifhed in the deluge, in Sodom, Egypt, &c.

It should also be noticed, that this generation had justified and approved all the wickednefs of their predeceffors in this iniquity. This they did by doing the fame things, and by carrying these enor mities to far greater lengths than had been done before, as if that had been but a fall matter. If they were not guilty of their perfonal fins, they were guilty of justifying them, and became in this fenfe accomplices in their guilt, and deferved the judgments of God on that account, efpecially as they lived in a more enlightened age, and had the advantage of all the admonitions which God had given against fuch wickednefs. Thefe obfervations will also apply to the old world, Sodom, Egypt, &c, They virtually approved the violence, luft, cruelty and idolatry of their forefathers, and proceeded beyond them in the fame deeds. -Thefe confiderations will acquit God, and fhow that this mode of adminiftration is confiftent with perfect rectitude.

But it is not only juft, but exceedingly glorious in God, thus to vifit the wickedness of the fathers upon the children, and of one generation of men upon another." It discovers that God is long fuf

Befides: In thefe national judgments, the generation punifhed was more ill-deferving than the former ones. This was true of Sodom, Egypt, and especially offering, flow to anger, and difpofed thofe to whom Chrift delivered to bear with mankind, and deal the paffage under confideration. with them in mercy, as long as They perfecuted Chrift and his poffible, as long as the welfare of church with greater malice, and the world will admit of. But it

On the nature of the fatisfaction,

rendered in the atonement. QUESTION. How doth Chrift execute the office of a priest? ANSWER. Chrift executeth the office of a prieft, in his once of fering up of himself, a facrifice to fatisfy divine juftice.

THE

Ass. CATECHISM.

| This affection, in its different modifications, gains the name of the feveral moral attributes. Juftice may be confidered, that attribute which fixes the fanctions of the moral law, and looks to the well ordering of the divine govern

ment.

One of these fanctions confifts the wages of fin. This penalty in death, or endless fuffering, as the offender in remedilefs ruin. is of great extent, and involves According to the tenor of the law, fin is an evil of infinite magHE method of falvation, nitude, and exposes to interminathrough the atonement of ble mifery, as the juft confequence. Chrift, difplays the infinite wif- This penalty, however, does not dom and goodness of God. It originate in a vindictive, revengeis fuitable that we should endeav-ful spirit. And juftice would lay our to gain a right view of this atonement. For it is a fundamental doctrine in the Chriftian scheme, and a mifconception here, may lead to confequences of a dangerous and deftructive tendency.

We may believe that Chrift, by his fufferings, hath endured the penalty of the law, in fuch a manner, as in this refpect fully to fatisfy divine juftice. But the nature of this fatisfaction, becomes a subject of inquiry. And it will be found that it does not neceffarily terminate in the happiness of all the human race, but is rather an encouragement to the finner, to fet about the work of his falvation.

I. Concerning the nature of divine juftice.

This is a formidable attribute; in it, God appears clothed in terrible majefty, making himself known in the judgment which he executeth. But it breathes the fame fpirit with benevolence, and has the fame moral excellence. One individual principle actuates the divine mind. God is love.

afide its claims, if there were no other end to be answered, but the gratification which arifes from the mifery of the offender. The infiction of penal evil, must have fomething to juftify it besides the fatisfaction which the mifery of the creature can give to the divine lawgiver. It will not do to vindicate the penalty of the law, by faying, It is no more than the vile tranfgreffor highly deferves.' There must be fome further reafon why fuch treatment of the finner is juft, or which constitutes his ill-defert. And if no reason, of a public nature, can be found for inflicting the penalty of the law, it ought in justice to be laid afide; for in fuch a condition as this, to exact punishment, would rather be the injustice and unfeelingness of a tyrant, than the tenderness of a wife and good fovereign. Hence we may inquire,

II. Why justice required fatisfaction.

And here we may bring into view the public and general good, as the great object which renders fuch a fatisfaction neceffary. It