A continuation of the exposition of the Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the…

(2) God will do so to evince the Righteousness of his Judgements, both in the Hearts and Consciences of them who shall be finally destroyed, whose End is to be burned; as also of all others who shall wisely consider of his ways. God endureth all things from the world that he may be justified in his sayings and may overcome when he is judged, Rom. 3. 4. that is, not only that all he doth shall be Righteous and Holy, which is necessary from his own Essential Righteousness, whence he will not, whence he cannot do Evil; but his Works shall be so wrought, so accomplished, as that the Righteousness of them shall be eminent and pleadable by his people against all sayings and reflections of ungodly men. Especially every thing shall be plain and visibly Righteous that he doth in this way towards barren unprofitable ⟨p. 83⟩Churches which he hath formerly owned and blessed. In his dealing with them, he will leave no colour of calling his Goodness and Faithfulness into question, but will as it were refer the Righteousness of his proceedings unto all, even unto themselves. So he doth as to his dealing with the Church of the Jews when it was grown utterly barren, Isa. 5. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. So did our Lord Jesus Christ in his Parable, compel the wicked Jews to subscribe unto the Righteousness of God in that miserable destruction which was coming on themselves, Matth. 21. 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40. And this God doth principally by his gradual procedure with them. His precedent warnings and first degrees of Judgements Spiritual or Temporal, shall bear witness unto the Righteousness of their total ruin. Men at present through their blindness, hardness of heart, love of sin, do not it may be take notice of Gods dealing with them, and are therefore apt to complain when they are surprised with the fatal Evil. But the day will come, when their Consciences shall be awakened unto a dreadful Remembrance of all the warnings God gave them, and how slowly he proceeded in his Judgements; when their Mouths shall be stopped, and their Faces filled with Confusion.

(2) God will do so to evince the Righteousness of his Judgements, both in the Hearts and Consciences of them who shall be finally destroyed, whose End is to be burned; as also of all others who shall wisely consider of his ways. God endureth all things from the world that he may be justified in his sayings and may overcome when he is judged,