Chapter III
The passage in Rom. ix. 22 explicated, only so far as concerns the execution.
Several particulars in the words that shew the power of God s wrath to be
the inflicting cause, and immediately inflicting this punishment. An expli cation of a fourth scripture, Rom. ii. 8, 9, added, for the confirmation
of all.
What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction? ROM. IX. 22.
I shall insist on this passage but so far as respects the execution of this
destruction in hell, after much long-suffering past, and not to touch at all
upon anything of that point of rejection from eternity, whether intended or
not. But that the words should respect the execution in hell (which is the
point only before us), I take that as clear, and much for granted. And the
reason is, because it is the glory of heaven, which in the next words the * Ipsa vis naturae per se considerata. Jllyricua.
CHAP. III.] IN RESPECT OF SIN AND PUNISHMENT. 497
apostle joins with it, and sets by it, as parallels illustrating each the other : so
ver. 23, And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the ves
sels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory
: in heaven, namely. The only thing which by the way I observe is, that the sin of the creature
is that which prepareth or fitteth the creature for the execution of this punishment ; and a difference may be observed in this (though otherwise a
parallel), as put in cautiously by the apostle, that God himself prepareth the
saints to glory, ver. 23 ; but the other are fitted, that is, by themselves, unto
destruction, ver. 22, ere he destroyeth them.
The point before me is, that God s wrath and his power are to be the im mediate inflicters of that destruction. There are several particulars in the
words, which, taken singly, might perhaps be sufficient to prove this, but, laid all together, will become a strong eviction thereof.
1. That God s wrath and his power, or the power of his wrath, are spoken of as the inflicting or executing causes, is evident ; for it is a power of effi
ciency here spoken of, as whereby God produceth this destruction, as a cause doth its proper effect ; and accordingly he is said to make known and shew
his power and wrath therein, like as the force and virtue of an efficient cause
is made known and demonstrated, in and by the effect it produceth. And
so is spoken to the same effect with what, in chap. i. 20, he had said, that
his power and Godhead is clearly seen from the creation of the world, and understood by the things that are made. He that is, 6 dvvaros, the
mighty one (as the blessed virgin there, by way of erninency, styles him), Luke i. 49, is said to shew strength with his arm, ver. 51. And here,
to make known, TO dvvarbv aurov (a word suited to that other), his rb posse, or what is possible to be done by him. It is then a power of strength, and
energy, or efficacy, with his own hands and arm, and that according to the
utmost of his ability, as the word imports. And so the power here spoken of is an inflicting power, that works and effects this destruction ; and not
that of authority only, or a power of liberty to do as one pleaseth, as the
potter with the clay ; for that kind of power he had before ascribed to God
in this matter, in the foregoing verse, which this word here is distinct from. And this is one step ; unto which add,
2. It is his power joined with his wrath ; that is, the power of his wrath,
or his wrath in the power of it. For thus Moses, the man of God, Ps. xc.
11, had long afore put them together, when he speaks of this very wrath in
hell, of which here the apostle doth. For after he had, 1, set out the time
* The days of our years are threescore years and ten, &c. ; and then, 2, we fly away , so expressing death, and our go
and condition of man in this life,
ing into another world ; then, 3, follows, Who knows the power of thine
anger? as that which succeedeth and seizeth after death upon the most of
mankind dying in their sins. The apostle here mentions power and wrath
apart ; but Moses there maketh power an attribute of his wrath, and so con
: 1. That
sidered, it hath a double meaning, and both serving our purpose
wrath stirs up his power, and draws it out unto this execution ; and there
fore wrath is the first of the two here mentioned. Yea, further, that it is his
power, as it becomes heated, inflamed, and intended* by wrath, that inflict-
eth this ; and as a man in his anger strikes a greater blow, so may God be
supposed to do, when represented as thus smiting in his sore displeasure. And 2. That God s very wrath and anger, if but shewn and revealed by him
to men s souls, hath such a power in it, that that alone is enough to destroy
them. The nearest resemblance that the Scriptures make of this wrath is
* That is, stretched or intensified. ED.
VOL. X. I 1
498 AN UNREGENERATE MAN S GUILTINESS BEFORE GOD, [BOOK XIII.
that of fire (of which anon), and that as fire melting wax by the very pre sence of it. As therefore when we would express the power of fire, we say, the power of the heat that is in the fire, that thus melts and consumes, &c., its heat being in itself so fierce and vehement a quality, that when but applied it thus works ; so here it is the power of his wrath, if it be
* kindled but a
little, that destroys, if but made known once or discovered. And as in the
text, it is a shewing his wrath, and thereby his power in destroying is made known. It is but his being angry, and shewing it. And this is the great ness of God, that his very wrath discovered, should have this power ; and how receptive the conscience is of it, I shall after shew. As
* in hisffavour
(if but manifested to men s souls) is life, Ps. xxx. 5, so, in his anger, when discovered by himself, there is death. If the wrath of a king be as
the] roaring of a lion, and where the word of a king is, there is power, then what is the terror and power of the wrath of the great God, that alone strikes dead ! And thus understood, it is an argument of itself
alone, that the power of his wrath doth speak an immediateness of God s execution.
A second particular is, that that which makes God willing, by reason of
sin, to execute this, is thereby to obtain a glory unto his power by shew
ing his wrath. So as that although he hath already shewn his power in
creating the world at first, and upholding it by the word of his power, and other effects, that yet over and above, and besides all this, he takes the
advantage of sin to shew, as the riches of his mercy in saving from sin, so the greatness of his power another way, namely, in destroying for sin. And
accordingly, in that 2 Thes. i. 9, there is a peculiar glory attributed unto that power of his, from or by which men are destroyed, punished from the
glory, says that text, of his power, or from his power, giving a demonstra
tion, or shewing his glory therein ; that is, unto that end, that it might be known how great and powerful a God he is in himself, by the judgment which he executes, as the psalmist speaks. Now then from hence, ere we add the other two particulars, the argument riseth thus : that if God should execute this by creatures only, and not im
mediately by himself, he attained not the full of this his end, and that upon a double account.
1. Because, when all had been done that could have been by his power ful arming and setting on of creatures to punish the sinner, yet still him
self being able to give a greater demonstration of power this way, if himself would take it in hand, and the soul of man being fully capable of his imme
diate workings upon it, and sin also deserving it, and the wrath of God
being first or last to come upon impenitent sinners to the uttermost, there
fore until this demonstration were given, he had not made a full proof of
his power, which the apostle here professeth to be his aim.
And, 2, in that after all other instances and demonstrations of power given in creation, miracles, in conversion of souls, that is, take his creating part in it, &c., all which he hath done immediately himself, without the in tervention of created influences, that he should, last of all, be willing to give forth anew, or shew forth his power afresh in this work also, and yet should not then give a demonstration of like immediate power, but execute it only at second hand by creatures alone ; this would fall short, and hold no pro portion with that power already shewn forth in those fore-passed works. And then this being the last, or one of the last, after all his other works
ended, purposely to shew forth his power in, it had not been such a*demon-
stration of power, as in his last work (wherein he professeth to shew forth
any attribute) he useth comparatively to give. For still his manner is, in
CHAP. III.] IN RESPECT OF SIN AND PUNISHMENT. 499
the shewing forth of any attribute, to give greater demonstrations thereof in his latter works than in the former ; of which more afterwards.
_ Add this to it, which heightens the argument, that the apostle specially singleth forth this attribute of power, and by way of eminency mentioneth
it in speaking of this punishment, as that attribute, whereof God is willing to give fullest demonstration in this work, above any other attribute, or at tributes in himself therein. In all the great works of God, some one special attribute hath still the honour given it, as being in a way of eminency put forth : as in man s salvation, mercy and grace, Eph. ii. 9 ; in man s glori fication, riches of glory and mercy, as here, ver. 23. But look down into hell, and it is his power which (as here in difference from those other) is said to be the predominant attribute that he would shew forth, and which appeareth there. And the comparing of these two, salvation and damnation, as they stand in an opposite parallel, this in ver. 22, and the other in ver. 23, doth confirm this observation, taking in withal that other
passage in 2 Thes. i. 9, where they are said to be punished from the glory of his power, which manifestly gives the glory unto his power in this work, above any attribute. His sovereignty is seen in salvation as much (if not
1 &c. But his power or omnipotency, that is said to be seen in destroying for sin. Whereof perhaps one reason is, because there is shewn in this, a duplicated power, a contrary stream of power running cross and thwart in its effects in
* I will have mercy on whom I will,
more) as it is in destruction :
this. For at the same instant (and that lengthened out for ever) God sets himself by his power to destroy the creature utterly, in respect of its well-
being ; whilst 3 7et again, on the other hand, as great a power is requisite to uphold it in being and sense, and to prevent its sinking into its first no
thing, or from failing before him, in respect of being to bear it. And in
respect to continue the creature to be, &c., and to endure the weight of God s power in wrath, to be dry stubble in a flame never consumed, this is more than for God to create. This puts the great God upon a double ex
pense of power. A third particular, in this Rom. ix. 22, that contributes to this is, that as
the cause inflicting is termed the power of his wrath, so the miserable sub
jects hereof are denominated vessels of wrath, even as on the other side
those saved are termed vessels of mercy. Common use of speech tells us, that vessels ordained to be filled with such or such materials have their de nomination from that matter they are ordained to contain, and are filled
withal. You say this is a vessel of oil, that a vessel of wine. These here, you see, are said to be vessels of wrath. If you demand whose wrath ? God s. What if God, willing to make known his wrath. Now as touch
ing its opposite here, vessels of mercy, all will acknowledge that when it is
spoken of as in relation to heaven (as here it is) it importeth souls, their
being set apart to be immediately filled with the love and mercy of God ;
that as God is love, so that they, as vessels, swim in that ocean for ever, that they dwell in God immediately, and are filled with fulness of him. And why should not then this other, of being vessels of wrath, be intended
in the same sense also, and that sense be urged accordingly ? especially
seeing it is evident that one scope of the apostle here, was to make a parallel between the eternal glorification of the one, and eternal destruction of the
other, and accordingly between what are to be the causes of them. And
if so, the law of this parallel will also carry it to this, that as the saints in
heaven have an immediate participation of God, that likewise in hell there
shall be oppositely an immediate participation of God s wrath. In heaven,
they are not said to be vessels of mercy because God shews them mercy
500 AN UNREGENERATE MAN S GUILTINESS BEFORE GOD, [BOOK XIII.
only by created benefits or gifts bestowed, or because they have God s
mercy communicated by creatures (though it must be affirmed that there
is a confluence of these), but because God himself appears all in love, mercy, and kindness to them.
And it is not nothing, that according to the same analogy of speech, unto
this particular, in multitudes of scriptures in the New Testament, this de
struction is ovofLaanxus, by way of singularity, eminency, and simply styled wrath, and the wrath of God. And so it bears away that denomination from all other punishments by creatures (except that by magistrates in God s
stead, and who bear the image of God, Bom. xiii. 5), so bearing the name of
its immediate cause.
* the wrath to
The Baptist he began that style in the New Testament,
come, Mat. iii., by way of distinction from all that is executed in this life. And the whole New Testament afterwards much useth that phrase. As when the day of judgment is styled the day of wrath, Rom. ii., and else where. It is equivalent to say, a child of hell, Mat. xxiii. 15, and a
child of wrath, Eph. ii. 3; to say, fitted to destruction, as Bom. ix., and
* ordained to wrath, 1 Thes. v. 9 ; to say, damnation hasteneth, 2 Peter
ii. 3, and the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience, Col.
* saved from wrath, Bom. v., delivered from wrath through Christ, 1 Thes. i. 10, is all one, and saved from death and hell, elsewhere. And this is usually termed the
iii. 6. As in like manner, on the contrary,
* wrath of God ; so John iii. 36, Col. iii. 6, and Eph. v. 6, Bom. ix. 22. That which I would observe from both is, that according to the general analogy or common speech in all languages, the punishment, as the effect,
bearing the denomination of that which is the immediate instrument of the
principal agent in that punishment (thus the torture by the rack is called
the rack ; whipping, the rod ; so in deaths, crucifying was termed the cross ;
hanging, the gallows; thus it is in the punishments which men execute) ; that in like analogy of speech, this punishment should so generally be termed
wrath, and the wrath of God, by way of eminency and difference from all
other forerunning effects of wrath, executed by creatures in this life ; this
still strengthens the former notion, that is indeed the wrath of this God itself,
in a way of eminent difference from what by creatures he doth in wrath pour
out, that is the inflicter of that punishment.
I shall for the close of this cast in one Scripture testimony more, both to
confirm this interpretation of wrath given upon Bom. ix., and the whole of
the point in hand. It is Bom. ii. 8, 9, Indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish unto every soul of man that doth evil, &c.
I observed afore from the second verse of this chapter, how that this punish ment was termed both the judgment of God, ver. 2, as denoting God to be
the judge, and also wrath, as of God the avenger. Now, in these words,
ver. 8, 9, the apostle pursueth the latter more fully, when he says, Indig nation and wrath, tribulation and anguish to every soul of man. These are
* indignation and wrath,
two pairs or conjugates of causes and effects : 1,
* tribulation and anguish, as the two effects ; and that on
as the causes ; 2,
* souls of men, which are the vessels of this wrath and indignation, and
the
subjects of that tribulation and anguish thence arising. And truly his
instancing in the soul, which, though it often signifies the whole person, yet here seems purposely done, as being that in or of man, which alone is imme
diately capable of this indignation and wrath of God, and the impressions or
effects of anguish therefrom, and is the proper seat of that anguish and tri
bulation ; and that phrase of wrath, its being said to be treasured up, in
CHAP. IV.] IN RESPECT OP SIN AND PUNISHMENT. 501
the 5th verse, suits this. For what is the treasury or magazine thereof, but the heart and bosom of God himself, in which it lies hid, as treasures use to do in some secret place ? Even as the saints life is said to be
< hid in God, Col. iii. 3, compare Deut. xxxii. 24. I shall but further superadd that noticed saying of Luther (which, out of deep experience of the wrath of God in his soul, at his first humiliation and conversion he had learned), The wrath of God is hell, the hell of devils and
all damned spirits.