of God, for their great and abominable Crimes, and as a People paft all hopes of Amendment? The abominable Crimes of the Canaanites were proved by fuch open and notorious Acts of Wickedness, as no Pretences to Freedom of Thought or Liberty of Confcience could juftify, or were allowed to justify, in any well-order'd Government in the World. If Murder, if Sins against Nature, are justly punishable, whatever Principles they may proceed from, if the wifeft Lawgivers have made fuch Crimes capital, can the fupreme Lawgiver and Judge of the Earth be hindered or barred by Juftice from punishing what every lawful Government has a Right to punish by Justice.

One great End of Punishments, and which The Fuffice fhews the wife and neceffary Use of them in and Wifdom of puGovernment, is to make great Offenders nihing the Examples, to deter others from doing the Canaanites for like Evils, that others may learn to fear like their Punishment for like Offences; a wife and Crimes. good Defign to prevent the huge Mischiefs, vicious and ill-difpofed Minds would furely produce without fuch Restraints.

Who can reasonably think, or affert, that the Juftice of Government forbids the Governor of the World to take away the Life of a very wicked Man, whofe Life would be forfeited to the Juftice of every Civil Government; or that it would be unjust for God to cut off fuch a Person in the midst of his Days,

Days, by fome untimely Death; whom the Juftice of the smallest City, or civil Community, might condemn to lofe their Lives by the Hands of a common Executioner.

Many, I hope, who use fuch Arguments as thefe, are ignorant of the Confequences of them. They do not perceive it may be, that if it be contrary to Justice for God to punish the Unrighteoufnefs of wicked Men, by a Forfeiture of the Bleffings of present Life, it will be full out as unjust for God to punish any wicked Man, or any Wickedness of Men at all: So that the most wicked Men and greatest Offenders against the Laws of moral Righteousness, Virtue and Goodnefs, have no reafon to fear any Punishment at the Hands of God at all. And this too, which fure seems fomewhat ftrange, from the Laws of Juftice and moral Government, which declare them to be Crimes fit to be restrain'd, and therefore worthy of Punishment. Such Affertions do not only oppose all Revelation, but moreover what are ufually accounted the allowed Principles of Deifm. A noble Author represents it," As "a Doctrine taught by all the eminent

Philofophers among the Heathen from "the common Principles of moral Philo

fophy, that nothing is more agreeable to "the Divine Nature, than that God should "reward Good with Good, and Evil with "Evil. And fince they obferv'd, that

fome

"fometimes good Men were afflicted, and "wicked Men profperous in this Life, "they concluded, with most certain Evi"dence from the Juftice and Goodness "of God, there was a Reward for the "Good and a Punishment for the Wicked

appointed them after this Life; for o"therwise there could be no reasonable "Account given, either of the divine Justice "or Goodness*"

To set aside these fo generally receiv'd Principles of moral Philofophy, as well as all Authority of Revelation, is to run through Deifm into downright Atheism, to affign all Events either to Fate and Neceffity, or to unguided Chance, which is the fame thing as to ascribe all Effects to no Cause at all; on which Suppofition it is nonsense to talk of Juftice, Goodness, or any other moral Perfection or Action whatsoever.

It

*Et quidem præmium bonis, & fupplicium malis, vel in hac vita, vel poft hanc vitam dari statuebant Gentiles, utrumque ex juftitia & bonitate divina colligentes, quæ fumma Dei Opt. Max. attributa ab illis agnita fuiffe, cuncta aperte clamant veterum teftimonia . . . . . Nihil mage congruum naturæ divinæ effe docuerunt, tum Philofophorum, tum Theologorum Gentilium præcipuorum Scholæ, quam ut bona bonis, mala malis remetiretur Deus.... Cæterum quum id quoque cernerent, quemadmodum viri boni calamitatibus miferiifque oppreffi heic jacerent, mali improbique e contra lau titiis omnibus affluerent, certiffimis ex juftitia bonitateque divina argumentis deductis, bonis poft hanc vitam præmium condignum malis pœnam dari credebant; fecus enim fi effet, nullam neque juftitiæ, neque bonitatis divinæ rationem conftare poffe. Herbert de Relig. Gentil. p. 274, 275.

It deferves further to be confidered, that if it be unjust to reftrain Men of any Liberties, or to punish them for any Abuse of them; fo that Justice forbids God himself to punish any with Forfeiture of Eftate or Life, whatever they do; what Rights then can any Men have to punish their Fellow-Creatures with fuch Forfeitures? This will make all Laws of Society, for the Restraint or Punishment of the greatest Wickednefs and most notorious Offenders, unjust too. What will be unjust in God will be evidently as unjust in Men, the worst of Offenders will have a juft Right to defend themselves against Injustice, and may surely justify themselves in doing what God cannot juftify himself in punishing them for. And thus, this Principle will end in an entire Subverfion of all Government both divine and human, and on pretence of preferving the Rights of Justice, will make it impoffible to have any fuch thing as the publick Juftice of Government, and muft, if fuch Principles fhould prevail, banifh it out of the Earth. Such over-ftrain'd Notions of Juftice, as leave no room for the Exercise of any Juftice at all must certainly be unreafonable and falfe. Let it then be observed, this Question is very weakly as well as unfairly put on the foot of Justice; for it must be allowed, either that God can in Juftice punish great incorrigible Offenders, or that none can justly punish

them;

pu

them; that is, they cannot in Juftice be nish'd at all; that is, there is no fuch thing as Justice at all.

dom of

Canaan

the He

Yet ftill fome will infift upon it, there is Juice no Appearance of Wisdom, at least of Good-and Wif nefs, that God fhould punish the Canaanites, God's puby giving a Commiffion to the Hebrews tonishing the drive them out of their Poffeffions, or put ites by the them to the Sword. If God would punith Hands of the Canaanites for their Iniquities, why was brews. it not done, they fay, by his own Hand? by unfruitful Seasons or peftilential Distempers, that it might appear it was a Punishment inflicted on them by God, as Governor of the World, and to prevent any Pretences Men might make of reforming the Erroneous, by difpoffeffing them of their Eftates, Liberties, or Lives? An Example, they say, that may be used to justify and encourage the higheft Acts of Injustice and Cruelty, under the Mafk of Religion, and in the Name of the Lord.

It

As it is well known, fo there is no need to deny, that the Hebrews did claim the Land of Canaan as the Gift of God to them. is as well known, that they made their Claim of it as the Gift of God, upon the Forfeiture of the Canaanites, when their Iniquities were fully ripe. On this is founded that folemn Admonition to the Hebrews themselves, Defile not ye your felves in Lev. xviii. any of these things, for in these the Na-24. tions are defiled, which I caft out before

you,