Online Bible 1995 March/ROM-1025.iso/olb/gill/d_000.lzh/D_077.TXT

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CHAP. XX[.                   OF THE JUSTICE OR RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD.                                                                 77

them that trouble his people, 2 Thess. i. 6. and-so to in-
flict punishment for any other sin committed by men;
and this has been exercised by him in all ages from the
beginning of the world; and has appeared in casting
down fi'om heaven to hell the angels that sinned; in
drowning the old world; in destroying Sodore and Go-
morrah; in the plagues on Egypt, on Pharaoh and his
host; the righteousness of which was acknowledged, in
some of the instances of it, by that wicked king, Exod.
ix. °-7. in the several captivities of the Jews, and .in the
destruction of that people; and in the judgments of God
on many other nations, in several periods of time; and
as will be seen in the destruction of autichrist and the
antichristian states; the righteousness of which will be
ascribed to God by the .angel of the waters, and by all
his people, Rev. xvi. 5, 6. and xix. 1, 2. and iu the eternal
punishment and everlasting destruction of ungodly men:
and this righteousness is natural and essential to God;
but this the Socinians {3} deny, because they do not choose
to embrace the doctrine of the necessity of Christ's satis-
faction for sin, which, if granted, they mnst give into.
But that punitive, or vindictive justice, is essential to
God, or that he not only will not let sin go unpunished,
but that he cannot but punish sin, is manifest, I. From
the light of nature: hence the accusations of the natural
conscience in men for sins committed; the fears of divine
vengeance falling upon them for it, here or hereafter.
the many ways and means devised to appease angry Deity,
and to avert punishment, some absurd, and others shock-
ing; to which may be added, the name of \~dikh\~, vengeance,
or justice, punitive justice, the heathens give to deity; see
Rein. it. 14, 15. Acts xxviii. 4.. -. 2. From the word of
God, and the proclamation which God himself has made;
in which, among other essential perfections of his, this
is one, that he will by no mcans clear the guilty-, and not
at all acquit the wicked, Exod. xxxiv. 6, 7. 1N nmb. xiv.
18. Nahum. i. 3.    3. From the nature of God, "who
is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity ;" cannot bear it,
but hates it, and the workers of it; which hatred is no
other than his punishment of it, Heb. i. 13. [sa. i. 13, 14.
· Psalm v. 5,6. Now as his love of righteousness is
natural and essential to him; so must hatred of sin be;
to which may be added, that "he is a consuming fire,"
Heb. xii. 0-9..    4. From the nature of sin, and the de-
merit of it, eternal death, everlasting punishment and
destruction. Now if sin of itself, in its own nature,
merits such punishment at the hands of God, he is obliged
to inflict it; or otherwise there can be no demerit in it.
5. From the law of God; the sanction of it, and the
veracity of God in it: sin is a transgression of the law;
which God, as a lawgiver, cannot but punish; otherwise
Iris legislative power aud authority is of no effect, and
would be despised: he has annexed a sanction to his law,
which is death; and Iris veracity obliges him to inflict it;
nor is it any objection to all this, that then all sinners
must be necessarily punished; since the perfections of
God, though natural to him, the acts and exercises of
them are according to his will; as has been instanced in
Iris onmipotence and mercy. Besides, it will be readily
allowed, and even aflcirmed, that no sin goes unpunished;
but is either punished in the sinner himself, or iu his

Surety. The reason why some are not punished in them-
selves, is, because Christ has made satisfaction for their
sins, by bearing the punishlnent due unto them. Hence,
ft. From sin being punished in Christ, the Surety of Iris
people, it may be strongly concruded, that punitive justice
is essential to God; or otherwise, where is the goodness
of God to Iris own Son, that he shottld not spare him,
but awake the sword of justice against him, and inflict
the whole of punishment ou him, duc to the sins Of those
for whom he suffered, if he could not have punished sin,
or this was not necessary ? and, indeed, where is Iris
wisdom in being at such an expense as the blood and life
of his Son, if sin could have been let go unpunished,
and the salvation of his people obtained without it ? and
where is the love of God to men, in giving Christ for
them, for their remission and salvation, so much magni-
fied, when all this might have been without it ? but with-
out shedding of blood, as there is no remission, so none
could be, consistent with the justic. e of God; no pardon
nor salvation, without satisfaction to that: could it have
been in another way, the prayer of Christ would have
brought it out, Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass
me, Matt. xxvi. 39. But,
Thirdly, I shall next consider the displays of the right-
eousness of God in his works; and vindicate his justice
in them; for the Lord .is righteous in all his ways, Psalm
cxlv. 17.
1. In his ways and works of providence: he governs
the world in righteousness, orders and disposes of all
things iu judgment; and though he does according to his
sovereign will and pleasure in heaven and in earth, yet
he acts according to the strictest rtdcs of justice and
equity; Just and true are his ways; he is the Judge of
atl t/re eart/t, who will do riglit, l{ev. xv. 3. Gen. xvm.
°,5. and does do it; not' is he chargeable with any unright-
conshess in any of his ways and works: men may wrongly
charge him, and say, as the house of Israel did; the way
of the Lord is not equal; when it is their ways that are
unequal, and not his, Ezek. xviii. 29. nor is it any suffi-
cient objection to the righteousness of God in his pro-
vidcnccs, that good men are often afflicted, and wicked
men are frequenttly in very prosperous circumstances:
these things have been stumbling and puzzling to good
men, and they have not been able to reconcile them to
the justice of God; see Psalm lxxiii. 4--13. Jer xii. 1, o_.
As for the afflictions or' God's people, these are not
pnnislnnents for sins, but chastisements of them; were
they indeed punishments for sin, it would argue injustice,
/br it would be unjust to punish twice for the same sins;
once in their Surety, and again in themselves: but so it
is not; their afflictions come not from God as a judge,
but as a father; and not from his justice, but his love;
and not to their detriment and injury, but for their good.
Iu short, they are chastened by the Lord, that they might
not be condemned with the world, 1 Cor. xi. 32. And as
for the prosperity of the wicked, though their eyes stand
out with fathess, and they have more than heart can wish,
yet they are like beasts that are fattened for the slaughter;
their judgment may seem to linger, and their damnation
to sltnnbcr, but they do not; sudden destruction will
conic npon them; the tables will, ere long, be turned,

a 8ocin. de Ser;atore~ par. 1. c. 1. Prvelcctior. Theelog. c. 16. C~c!litls de Dee, e. jusque attributis~ c 25. in fine.