shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever." Who can suppose that the holy angels and spirits of just men made perfect can be spectators of such a scene without peculiar sensibility? They must be pleased or displeased with the divine conduct; they must approve or disapprove it. And of necessity, they must either praise or blaspheme God, while they see him express the indignation of his benevolent and holy heart towards the disobedient, impenitent and unbelieving. Those who believe, what the whole current of scripture gives us the fullest evidence to believe, that some of our sinful race will be finally and for ever cast off, cannot disbelieve that the heavenly world will approve of God's casting them off for ever, and sincerely praise him for all the displays of his amiable and awful justice in the eternal condemnation and punishment of the wicked. For if they do not praise God, they must blaspheme him, and deserve the very punishment which they condemn. No one can carry his thoughts to heaven, and believe that there will be any blasphemy there against him who sitteth on the throne, and the Lamb; but perpetual praise for the bright displays of divine justice, as well as divine grace. I proceed to show,

II. Why the heavenly hosts will for ever praise God for his for ever punishing the wicked, according to his threatenings in his word.

Here it may be proper to premise, that the holy and benevolent inhabitants of heaven do not praise God for punishing the wicked, because they take pleasure in their punishment, simply considered. The God of love himself can take no pleasure in punishing the wicked, simply considered; and he says so, 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 the wicked turn from his way and live." All the heavenly world possess the same benevolent spirit, which can take no pleasure in the pains and sufferings of the damned, simply considered; and therefore they do not praise God merely for the punishments he inflicts, but for the pure, perfect and holy justice, which he displays in punishing. Nor do they praise God for punishing the wicked, because they have no regard to the worth of their immortal souls, and the importance of their eternal happiness. They know that their souls are as capable of enjoying eternal happiness as their own, and that their eternal happiness is as valuable as their own, simply considered. And were

it consistent with the highest good of the universe, they would rejoice to see them converted, released from punishment, and admitted into heaven, in any future period of their existence. For they love to enjoy happiness themselves, and to see all their fellow creatures enjoy it to as great a degree, and to as long a duration, as the best good of the universe requires or admits. Some seem to think that if the heavenly inhabitants do praise God in the view of the miseries of the damned, they must necessarily feel and express perfect malevolence towards those sinful and miserable objects. But this idea ought to be discarded, because there is no foundation for it in scripture or reason. The way is now prepared to bring forward the plain and positive reasons, why the heavenly hosts do say, "Amen, Alleluia," while they behold the endless sufferings of the

wicked.

1. The first and most obvious reason for their praising God for punishing the wicked for ever is, that they deserve to be punished for ever. There is an inseparable connection between sin and ill desert. Every sin deserves punishment and must for ever deserve it; because punishment has no tendency to take away its ill desert. Every transgressor of a human law, after he has suffered the penalty of it, still deserves to be punished, as much as he did before; because the punishment he has received has not either removed, or diminished his guilt, or desert of punishment. It is true, the good of the public does not require a transgressor of the law to receive a perpetual punishment, in many cases; and for that reason, the law does not require him to suffer a punishment as long as he lives; but in some cases it does require this, and justly too; because his sufferings do not remove, nor diminish his ill desert. And this holds true in respect to punishment in a future state. Whatever punishment God may inflict upon the finally impenitent at the last day, they will deserve to suffer as long as they exist. For they will deserve it at any future period of their existence, as much as they did at the moment God at first inflicted it upon them. It is as true that sinners deserve eternal punishment, as that they deserve any punishment at all. But it seems to be universally allowed by sinners themselves, that they actually deserve some punishment, and even more than they are willing to suffer. There can be no doubt but that the angels of light, and the spirits of just men made perfect, have a much clearer and juster view of the ill desert of sin than any of mankind in this present imperfect state. They have seen apostate angels, and apostate men, and some of them have been apostate creatures themselves. They have had great opportunity, and abundant occasion to examine the evil nature and ill desert of sin,

with the deepest sensibility and attention. They must all know that sin deserves not only some punishment, but endless punishment. And those who have been redeemed from the earth, know that they have felt and acknowledged that they have deserved, and still deserve eternal death. But if all these holy creatures know that sinners deserve eternal punishment, they must see that they have a good reason to praise God for inflicting upon them the punishment they deserve. They do not praise God without a motive, nor from a malevolent motive, but from supreme love to God and the general good of the universe, which is the highest and best motive they can act from. Vindictive justice flows from the pure, disinterested and universal benevolence of the Deity; and every expression of it in punishing the guilty, gives unequivocal evidence that he has a supreme regard to the highest good of all holy beings, and is willing to sacrifice the good of individual transgressors for the blessedness of his holy kingdom; which reflects the highest glory upon him. It must be the desire of all holy creatures, who see and condemn the ill desert of sinners, to desire that the punishment they deserve may be inflicted upon them. David prayed to God that he would treat sinners according to their ill desert. "Give them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavors: give them after the work of their hands; render to them their desert." There is such an apparent congruity, or fitness, between the ill desert of sinners and the punishment which God inflicts upon them, that the heavenly hosts feel that they have reason to praise God for adapting and inflicting a punishment upon them perfectly correspondent to their desert. One reason is plain and obvious, why the heavenly hosts say, "Amen, Alleluia," in the view of the punishment God inflicts upon those who deserve it.

2. Not only the ill desert of sinners, but the moral beauty and excellence of vindictive justice, is another reason why the heavenly world praise God for the exercise of it. If vindictive justice were a blemish in the divine character, as many maintain, then there could be no reason why any of God's creatures should love or praise him for it. Many suppose that the pure and perfect benevolence of the Deity excludes vindictive justice from his moral character. They endeavor to make themselves and others believe that God is all mercy, and has not the least trait of vindictive justice in his nature. But this supposition is contrary to the nature of true benevolence, to the plainest declarations of scripture, and to the general course of divine providence, from the beginning of the world to the present day. How many persons, and how many nations, has God judicially destroyed? And how expressly has he declared that vindictive

justice belongs to his essential character? The apostle says, "We know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me; I will recompense, saith the Lord." We know, as well as the apostle, where God hath said this. It is in the thirty-second of Deuteronomy, where we read, "See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill and I make alive: I wound and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand. For I lift up my hand to heaven and say, I live for ever. If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment, I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me." God has here drawn his true character, in which his vindictive justice is the most prominent trait. If there be any beauty in his moral character, there is a beauty in his vindictive justice, or holy and benevolent disposition to punish sin. And if this disposition be amiable, then the actual display of it must be equally amiable and glorious, in the view of all holy beings. The heavenly hosts, therefore, see a good reason, why they should admire and praise God, for giving a just recompense to those who have known and hated him without a cause.

3. The heavenly host have reason to praise God for his goodness, as well as justice, in maintaining his moral government over his moral subjects, by confining and punishing the irreconcilable enemies of it. It belongs to God not only to exercise a natural government over the natural world, but to exercise a moral government over the moral world. The proper mode of governing moral subjects, is by laws, rewards and punishments. It is in this way that mankind govern one another. They find it necessary to make laws and see that they are executed, in order to preserve peace and harmony, and to restrain the lawless and disobedient. And wise and just rulers have always been admired and applauded for supporting the government which they are appointed to administer. So God, the supreme ruler of the universe, is worthy of the admiration and praise of all his moral subjects, for supporting his wise and holy government over them, by the laws he gives, the rewards he promises, and the punishments he inflicts upon the lawless and disobedient. He has promoted the security, the order, and the happiness which have been enjoyed in heaven and earth, by his holy laws, his great rewards, and his awful judgments. We know that when his judgments have been abroad in the earth, the inhabitants of the world have often learned righteousness, and enjoyed peace and security in consequence of them. What a favor it is to heaven that God has banished the apostate angels from it, and confined them in chains of darkness? What a favor it is that God has banished

Pharaoh and the long succession of tyrants from the earth, and by his almighty and invisible hand has restrained them from ever returning to spread misery and destruction on earth, and from ever entering and disturbing the peace and harmony of heaven? And what a great favor it is that he restrains the malignant spirits of the regions of darkness from appearing, and wreaking their vengeance upon any of the living inhabitants of the world? We, as well as all heaven, have reason to praise God, that he displays his amiable goodness and justice in supporting his wise and holy and benevolent government over the whole universe, by separating, restraining and punishing his and our enemies. The heavenly hosts mention this reason for their singing the song of Moses and the Lamb. When they sing that song, they say, "Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy; for all nations shall come and worship before thee, for thy judgments are made manifest." The heavenly inhabitants praise God for the displays of his goodness and justice in governing this world, as well as the world above. I may add,

4. The spirits of just men made perfect have a peculiar reason for their praising God for punishing the finally impenitent, because it eminently displays his sovereign grace towards them. They realize that they had deserved to be finally cast off and consigned to endless wo, as well as those whom they see doomed to everlasting darkness and despair; and that it is of the Lord's mercies, that they are not consumed, but admitted to see, admire and praise their divine Redeemer. The miseries of the damned will for ever be a mirror, in which the redeemed from the earth will see and feel and gratefully acknowledge the astonishing grace of God, in renewing, sanctifying and conducting them to heaven. How must Moses feel in seeing Pharaoh! How must Paul feel in seeing Pilate! How must parents feel in seeing children, and children in seeing parents, and friends in seeing friends, separated from them, and doomed to unutterable and unending misery! What gratitude must the happy ones feel, and how sincerely will they praise God for his sovereign and distinguishing mercy? John will tell us: "And I looked and lo, a Lamb stood on the Mount Sion, and with him a hundred forty and four thousand, having their Father's name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps and they sung as it were a new song before the throne and before the