ratively; and that no such exercises or emotions of heart, can exist in the mind of an absolutely perfect and immutable being. This mode of evasion has been adopted by some very learned and excellent divines. But it does not appear to be any more inconsistent with the immutability and absolute perfection of God to hate, than to love, to be displeased, than to be pleased, or to be angry with sinners, than to be delighted with saints, and rejoice over them with joy. We know that God is a moral agent, and must have a heart, as well as a rational understanding, and moral discernment. And such a being must be capable of loving what is lovely, and of hating what is hateful. To suppose, therefore, that God does not really hate sinners, is evading rather than solving the difficulty. But others take a different way of solving the difficulty. They allow that God hates sin, but not the persons of sinners. They confidently affirm that God loves sinners themselves, while he only hates their sins. But perhaps it has been sufficiently proved that God does really hate sinners themselves. And if he does, how is it consistent with his loving them at the same time that he hates them? This has been confidently asserted to be a gross absurdity. If God could hate sin without hating the sinner, there would be no difficulty in seeing how God could love sinners themselves at the same time that he hated their sins. But this it has been observed is impossible. It is abundantly evident from scripture, that God does really and literally love and hate sinners at the same time. Our Saviour said, "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Paul said to the Romans, "God commendeth his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." And he said to the Ephesians, "You hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ." The apostle John also said to christians, "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." Thus God displayed his great and astonishing love to sinners, in sending his Son into the world to suffer and die, to make an atonement for their sin and rebellion against him.

It is certainly true, and must be universally allowed, that God does love sinners while they are totally depraved, and dead in trespasses and sins. But what kind of love does God exercise towards sinners? Does he exercise the love of complacence towards them? By no means; for he hates all the workers of iniquity. They are not proper objects of approba

tion, or complacence, but of disapprobation and hatred. It is, therefore, only the love 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 not I 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 complacence 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 complacence 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 selfish 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 complacence, 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 complacence 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 ex

presses 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 complacence 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 in 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 complacence 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. This supposition is neither rational, nor scriptural. There 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 they are 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 hating 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 sinners in this world is consistent with his benevolence towards them in this world, so his hatred of sinners in another world is consistent with his benevolence towards them in another world.

Some excellent divines suppose that God's benevolence

towards impenitent sinners will entirely cease in another world. The question has been seriously stated, why saints should love sinners in this world and not love them after they are finally cast off. And the answer given was, that God loves sinners while in this world, but will not love them after they are cast off in another world; and that saints should feel towards impenitent sinners in another world, as God feels towards them. Though he loves them in this world, yet he has no love to them in another world; even his love of benevolence towards them entirely ceases in eternity; and so the love of saints towards them should and will entirely cease after they leave this state of probation. But why should God's love of benevolence cease to sinners in another world? They will be as proper objects of benevolence there, as they are here. God will have as good reason to exercise benevolence towards them, as he has here. Here he does not exercise benevolence towards them, because he feels any complacence towards them. He hates them here with perfect hatred; as perfect hatred as that which he exercises towards the fallen angels. They are here as vile as the fallen angels, and deserve God's hatred as much as the fallen angels do; and yet he loves them with perfect benevolence. The truth is, God always did, and always will love fallen angels, notwithstanding their guilty rebellion; and he now loves rebellious men, and always will love them, though they always continue in rebellion against him. It is entirely consistent, and absolutely necessary, that God should exercise benevolence towards fallen angels and fallen men, notwithstanding their great criminality and guilt; for his benevolence towards them is the only just cause of his holy hatred of them. If he should cease to exercise holy benevolence towards them, he must necessarily exercise an unholy malevolence towards them, which would be becoming as sinful and odious as they. Though God and all holy beings will for ever hate unholy ones, yet they will never feel malevolence towards them. But the moment they should cease to exercise benevolence towards the spirits in prison, they would begin to exercise malevolence towards them, which would be infinitely criminal. It is demonstrable from God's loving and hating sinners in this world, that he will continue to love and hate them, as long as they are impenitent.

2. If God loves and hates sinners in this world at all, then he loves and hates them more than any other being does in the universe. It appears from what has been said, that God does really both love and hate impenitent sinners. Christ loved and hated impenitent sinners, while he lived upon earth. He loved and hated the impenitent young man, who appeared externally so lovely. He loved and hated Judas. He loved and hated the impenitent Jews. He loved and hated even his murderers,