SECT. I. That Man is by nature an accountable Creature .

FIrst then , I observe , That the very make and frame and condition of Humane Nature proves that Man is an accountable Creature , who can give an account of his Actions , and therfore may be called to an account for them ; and that is a strong Presumption , that he will be called to an account ; that is , that he will be judged . There are four things necessary to make any Being accountable : 1. That he have a Principle of Reason to know what he does , and to judge for himself . 2. That he have a Rule to live by , to direct him what to do , and what to avoid . 3. That he have liberty of Choice , and the free government of his own Actions . 4. That he be an inferior and subordinate Creature , who has some above him to call him to an account .

I. As for the first , we know a Beast , which is governed by Instinc● not by Reason , can't be judged , because such brute Creatures know not what they do ; and therefore can give no account what they do ; which is the case also of Infants , of Fools and mad Men , who must be governed , that they may do no hurt , but can't be judg'd : but a reasonable Creature as Man is , who knows what he does , and can judge of his own actions , may be judged for them too ▪

II. Where there is no Rule to live by , there is nothing to be judged for ; when nothing is commanded , and nothing forbid , all actions are alike indifferent ; and in this case there is no other Rule but for every Man to please himself , and to do what he likes best , and he who does so , gives a good account of himself , and cannot be blamed for it ; if there were no Rule of Good and Evil , there could be no place for Rewards and Punishments , and consequently no place for Judgment ; but when we have a Rule to live by , as all Mankind have , either the Laws of Nature , or the revealed Will of God , we may do either good or evil , and may deserve either rewards or punishments , and then we may be judged too .

III. Whatever Being acts by Necessity or Fate , not by Choice , is no more capable of being judged then the Winds and Seas are , or any other natural and necessary Causes ; for where there is no choice , there is neither moral good nor evil : but Man is a free Agent , who not only knows the difference between good and evil , but can choose the good and refuse the evil , and therefore he is capable of praise or blame , of rewards or punishments , for the good or evil which he does ; that is , he may be called to an account , and be judged for what he does .

Especially , IV. if he be an inferior and subordinate Creature , who has a Superior to judge him ; to judge indeed is an act of Superior authority and power , and therefore those who have none above them , cannot be judged ; but an Inferior is by the condition of his nature , or circumstances of life , obnoxious to the judgment of his Superiors ; for the very Notion of a Superior and Inferior signifies to govern and to be governed , to judge and to be judged . An Inferior is obnoxious to the judgment of his Superior , who may judge him if he pleases ; and this is the condition of all Mankind , if we believe that there is a God above us , who is our Natural Lord .

So that Man by his very nature and condition was made to be judged , which is a very good argument that he shall be judged , if we will but allow , that God will govern all Creatures according to their natures ; which is essential to the wisdom and justice of his Goverment : As to take a particular Review of this matter :

1. If it be naturally decent and fitting , that a reasonable Creature should give a reason of his actions , why should we doubt , whether the wise Governor of the World , will require a reason of him , and call him to an account ? Reason makes us capable of giving an account of our actions , and which is more than that , it makes us sensible , that we ought to give an account ; our own minds exact an account of us , and when we cannot give a good account to ourselves , we blush alone , when nobody sees us : nay , Reason makes us so liable to give an account , that it requires no Authority to ask it : it is what we owe to all Mankind , and the meanest Man may expect it from us , as well as our Judge ; and when we cannot give a reasonable account of our actions , a Child or Beggar shall shame and confound us , whatever our Quality or Character be ▪ And it would seem strange , if Reason should make us accountable to all the World , but only to God , who is the Soveraign Lord of all ; that God should make us accountable to ourselves , and to all other reasonable Beings , but no● to himself .

2. If GOD have given Man a Rule of Life , and a natural Measure of Good and Evil , can it be thought that he will require no account of him , whether he keeps or breaks these Laws ? for to what purpose then did he give 'em ? how contemptible are Laws without a Sanction , or a Sanction without a Judge to dispense Rewards and Punishments ? to give La●s without taking notice how they are observed , or punishing the breach of them , is so very absurd , that no Humane Government was ever wholly guilty of such Folly ; and why should we charge God with such Absurdities in Government , as would be ridiculous in Men ? If we will but allow God as much wisdom and discretion as an earthly Prince , we may certainly conclude , that if he have given Laws to Men , he will judge them by those Laws .

3. There is no way of governing a free Agent as Man is , but by Hopes and Fears , by Rewards and Punishments , for Force and Violence is not the Government of a free Agent , because it destroys its Liberty ; so that if God govern Mankind at all , he must judge them , that is , he must reward or punish them according to the good or evil they do ; and though this does not directly and immediately prove a Future Judgment , yet it is a fair step towards it , as will appear more heareafter : All that I desire to conclude from hence at present is only this , That if God govern Men like reasonable Creatures , he must judge them ; and if we have as great assurance , that God will judge the World , as we have that he governs it , there is an end of this Dispute to Men who believe a God and a Providence .

Nay , indeed , we need onely suppose , that Man was made by a wise Being to prove , that he shall be judged ; i. e. that he shall be rewarded or punished for all the good or evil that he does in the World ; for a wise Being will take care to govern the Creatures which he makes , and to govern them in such a way as is agreeable to the natures he has given them ; and since Man , who is a free Agent , can be governed only by Hopes and Fears , God would never have made Man , had he not intended to judge him ; that is , he would never have made such a Creature as can be governed only by the hope of rewards and by the fear of punishments , had he not resolved to lay these restraints upon him , to reward and punish him according to his works : how necessary rewards and punishments are to the Government of Mankind we see in Humane Societies , which cannot subsist without them : notwithstanding the severest Laws and the severest Executions , every Age and every Country produces great Prodigies of Wickedness , which no doubt would be much greater and more numerous , were there no Laws and Government to restrain them ; and when the universal experience of Mankind convinces the World of the necessity of Laws and Government , why should we think that the wise Maker of Man should not over-awe him also with a sence of his own Power and Justice , which is a more effectual restraint than the Rods and Axes of Princes .

4. Thus if Man by the condition of his nature be an inferior depending Creature , he i● by nature accountable to God , who is his Soveraign Lord ; and this is a good argument that he must give an account of himself to God : for there is no reason to think that God will not call Man to an account , when he has made him by nature accountable to himself ; for the nature of things is the most certain Rule to know how God will govern them ; at least the nature of things is a strong presumption , unless there be plain and positive evidence to the contrary . He who acknowledges , that Man is by nature an inferior Creature , who is ac●ountable to God for all his actions , must reasonably take it for granted , without any further proof , that God will judge him and call him to an account ; for God has declared his intentions to judge him by making him such a Creature as is to be judged : and there is no pretence and shew of reason to say , that God will not take an account of Man , whom he has by nature made an accountable Creature , unless we can produce a plain and express Revelation of God's Will , that he will not judge Mankind . No Man can prove by Reason , that God will not judge Mankind , for no reason can be good against the nature of things , and the nature of things do most reasonably prove a Judgment ; and therefore we ought to take it for granted , that God will judge the World , till we see a plain Revelation , that he will not .

This is worth observing , because it puts the proof upon those who deny a Judgement , where in reason it ought to lie : for those who have the reason and nature of things on their side , have as good natural evidence as they can have , and need seek no farther ; but those who will believe contrary to the nature of things , ought to prove their exemption from the Laws and Condition of their Nature .

I desire you seriously to consider this , and to lay it to heart , for it is a very sensible Argument , and if well managed , will convince you how foolish and unreasonable all your hopes are of escaping the Judgment of God ; unless you have some secret Revelation of this , which the rest of Mankind know nothing of : To represent this as plainly and familliarly as I can , give me leave to ask you some few questions , or rather seriously ask your selves such questions as these :

Why do I hope that God will not judge me ? am I not obnoxious to the Judgment of God ? am I not his Creature , and is he not my Soveraign Lord ? and is he not then my Judge ? and why should I expect that my Natural Lord and Judge will not judge me ? Do not Parents judge their Children , and Masters their Servants , and Princes their Subjects , and all Superiors their Inferiors , and can I think that God alone , who is the Soveraign Lord of all , and from whom all inferior Power and Authority is derived , should not himself judge his Creatures ? has God renounced his Authority , or is the exercise of it too troublesome to him ? has he made us accountable Creatures , but to give no account ? has he made us in subjection to himself , to exercise no authority over us ? We had better say , that God has made us all soveraign , independent , unaccountable Creatures , which is less absurd then to say , that God is our Soveraign Lord , but will not judge us , that is , will not exercise his Soveraign Authority .

All this seems to be self-evident , and to carry its own proof and conviction with it ; and there is but one Evasion that I know of , by the help of which Men flatter themselves still into the Opinion , that God will not judge them , or at least , that it is not evident from the Light of Nature , that he will ; and that is , that all this proves indeed , that God may judge us , if he please , but not that he will : we are his Creatures , and obnoxious to his Power and Justice , and this proves , that he may judge us if he please , but he is under no force , and therefore if he please also he may not judge us : and while this is possible , Men who love their sins , are apt to flatter themselves , that God will not judge them .

Now this is no Objection to us Christians , who have a plain and express Revelation of God's Will in this point , that he will judge the World , though it is an additional satisfaction to see , that the nature and reason of Things do so well agree with Revelation ; but however , at present I shall set aside Revelation , and consider , whether what I have now discoursed , do not as well prove , that God will , as that he may judge the World .

Now to prove this , I will only suppose one Principle , which I will thank no Man to grant me , That what the reason and nature of Things proves ought to be done , that God will do ; for though God is under no force and necessity , yet his own Nature is a Rule and Law to him ; what ought to be done , every wise and good and just Being will do , and therefore God will certainly do it , who is infinite Wisdom ; and what the nature of Things require to be done , that is the prescription of his own Wisdom , for he made all things , and therefore by giving such natures to his Creatures , he has made a Law for himself , and sufficiently declared what he intends to do .

Now let any Man consider what I have already discoursed , and tell me , whether a reasonable Creature , who is a free Agent , and under the power and authority of a Superior , who prescribes him the Laws and Rules of Action , ought not to be called to an account for his actions ? whether a wise Father , or a wise Prince , would not do this ? and whether it be not a great neglect and fault in the Superior , if it be not done ? I 'm sure all Mankind would think so ; and then we must grant , that the state and condition of Humane Nature proves , that God not only may , but will judge the World ; unless we can suppose , that he will be guilty of such a neglect , as would be thought a great fault among Men.

There are some things indeed , which we cannot know , that God will do , without a Revelation , such free and arbitrary acts of Goodness , as he had no way obliged himself too , nor had given any natural notice of , such as is the whole Oeconomy of Man's Salvation by Jesus Christ , but what either his own nature , or the nature of Things , which he has made , exacts from him , that we may be sure a wise and just and good Being will do .

For though God is under no force and constraint , yet he must , because he will , act agreeably to his own Nature , and the nature of Things ; and we may as well say , that we are not sure , that God will do what is good , and just , and wise , because he is under no force to do it , as that he will not judge Mankind ; for to judge the World is as essential to the Soveraignty of God , as to do what is wise and good is to his Wisdom and Goodness : And it is as absurd to say , that God is the Soveraign Lord of the World , but need not exercise his Soveraign Authority in governing or judging Mankind , as to say , that God is infinite Wisdom and Goodness , but need never do what is wise or good : such dormant and unactive Perfections are a contradiction to the very Notion of a God , whose Nature is a pure and simple Act , all Life and Energy ; if he be good , he will do good , and if he be the Soveraign Lord and Judge of the World , he will govern and judge Mankind .

This is the first natural Evidence of a Future Judgment , taken from the Frame and Condition of Humane Nature , which I have insisted on much longer than I intended , for the more I think of it , the more plain and convincing it seems to be ; for what imaginable reason is there to question , whether God will judge Mankind ▪ when he has made Man just such a Creature , as he must have made him , if he had intended to judge him ; endowed him with Reason and Understanding , and liberty of Choice , given him Laws and Rules of Action , and made him in subjection to Himself , obnoxious to his own Power and Justice , which are plain natural Indications , that God does intend to call him to an account .

SECT. II. The essential Differences between Good and Evil , and the Natural Notions we have of GOD , prove a Future Iudgment .

II. THe essential Differences between Good and Evil , prove that Mankind ought to be judged ; and this is somewhat more then that God has made Man such a Creature as is by nature accountable , and may be judged : just as much more as the difference is between may be and must be , for though as I observed before , this may be does very strongly infer a will be ; that is , that God having made Man an accountable Creature , is a reasonable Presumption , that he will judge him , and call him to an account ; yet this is not so direct and immediate a Proof that God will judge Mankind , as it is to shew , that the essential difference of Good and Evil , makes it necessary , that Man should be judged , that he should be rewarded and punished according to his works .

I premise this to shew you , what a new advance this makes towards the proof of a Future Judgment , and now come to explain the force of this Argument :

That there is an essential difference between Good and Evil , ( as unwilling as some Men are to own it ) is demonstrable to every Man's sence and experience , which is a more undeniable Proof , then some Nice and Metaphysical Speculations ; and that what is good ought to be rewarded , and what is evil ought to be punished , is acknowledged by the universal consent and practise of Mankind ; and I think the necessary and unavoidable consequence of this is , that good Men shall be rewarded , and the wicked punished ; that is , that Mankind shall be judged according to their Works . This is in short the Argument , and if I can make good each part of it , I have no more to do , but to leave it to your serious consideration .

I. That there is an essential difference between Good and Evil ; that is , that there are some things in their own natures very good for Men , and other things which are very hurtful to them : And will any Man deny this ? This is the Good and Evil , which is in the nature of Things , and so immutably there , that all the Art and Power of the World , can never alter them without altering the nature of Things ; cannot make that good which is hurtful , nor that hurtful which is good ; which is all the Good and Evil which I know of : for whereas we distinguish between Moral and Natural Good and Evil , the only difference between them is this , that Moral Good and Evil is in the Will and Choice , Natural Good and Evil is in the Nature of Things ; that which is good or hurtful to ourselves or others , is naturally good or evil ; to love , to choose , to do , that which is good or hurtful to ourselves or others , is morally good or evil , or is the good or evil of our Choice and Actions .

If you will but recollect yourselves , you will all find , that you have no other Notion of Good or Evil but this : When you say , such a Man has done a very good , or a very evil action , what do you mean by it ? do you not mean , that he has done something very good or very hurtful to himself or others ? When you hear that any Man has done good or evil , is not the next question , What good or what hurt has he done ? And do you not by this mean Natural Good or Evil ? which is a plain evidence , that you judge of the Moral Good or Evil of Actions by the Natural Good or Evil which they do : and the essential difference between Moral Good and Evil is founded on the essential difference between Natural Good and Evil , and therefore is as unalterable as the Nature of Things .

This is evident from that universal Rule of Justice and Goodness , Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you , do you that also unto them ; which is an Appeal to our own sense and feeling for the good and evil of our Actions ; which must therefore signifie the natural good and evil of them : We feel what is for our good or hurt ; and we desire Men should do good to us , but that they should not hurt us ; and therefore we must do good and no injury to them ; and this is the sum of the Law and the Prophets : The universal Rule of Moral Justice and Goodness , which is to do that which is for the natural good of Mankind , whatever our sense and experience tells us , is naturally good and beneficial to ourselves : which would be a very imperfect Rule , if there were not an inseparable connexion between Moral and Natural Good .

The not observing this is the true reason why some Men can form no Notion at all of Moral Good or Evil , but think Vertue and Vice to be meer arbitrary Notions , which have no foundation in the Nature of Things , as indeed they can have none but only this , that Vertue is to love , and choose , and do that which has a natural good in it , which is good to ourselves or others ; that Vice is to love , and choose , and do that which has some natural evil in it , or which is hurtful to ourselves or others ; as for instance , Charity which is one of the most excellent Vertues of the Christian Life , consists in doing every thing which is for the good of Men ; in feeding the Hungry , clothing the Naked , relieving the Injured and Oppressed , the Fatherless and the Widdow , in directing , advising , assisting , comforting Men in difficulties and distress , in forgiving Injuries , concealing Faults , judging charitably , and in all such other acts of Goodness , as are greatly for the benefit of Mankind ; whereas the contrary Vice does all the contrary Evils and Mischiefs to the great hurt and injury of Men ; and whoever considers this , must confess , that Moral Good and Evil is as real a thing , as Natural Good and Evil is ; and I suppose no Man , who has his senses about him , will deny , that there is such a thing as Natural Good and Evil ; as for instance , Pain and Pleasure , and then his same senses will in abundance of instances tell him the essential difference between Moral Good and Evil .

On the other hand , the true and onely reason why Men so vastly differ in their Notions of Moral Good and Evil , is because in many instances they are not agreed , what Natural Good and Evil is : some Men call nothing good or evil , but what is good or evil to their Bodies , such as Pain and Pleasure , and the Causes and Instruments of them , Health and Sickness , Riches and Poverty , and the like ; others think , and with much greater reason , that we should take our Souls into the account too ; that whatever is for the ease and pleasure of our Minds , whatever adorns and perfects a reasonable Nature , is a Natural Good to Men , as Wisdom and Knowledge , and regular and well-govern'd Appetites and Passions do ; and therefore these are the foundation of Moral Vertues too ; but whatever debases our Natures , and is a reproach to the reason and understanding of a Man , whatever thrusts him down into the rank of brute Creatures , and either disturbs his ease , or changes the pleasures of a Man for those of a Beast , are great Natural Evils too , if the perfection and happiness of Humane Nature be a Natural Good ; and therefore to choose and to act such things is morally evil .

This is enough to shew , what Moral Good and Evil is , that it has a necessary relation to Natural Good and Evil ; and it were easie here to prove , were it not too long a Digression , that all the Laws of the Gospel do either command what is for the good and happiness of Mankind , of every private Man , and of publick Communities , or forbid such things as are hurtful and prejudicial to them ; but my present Design will not suffer me to straggle so far out of the way .

II. The second branch of this Argument is , That according to the ●eneral sence of Mankind , what is good ou●ht to be rewarded , and what is wicked ought to be punished .

For the proof of this , I shall appeal in the first place to all Civilized Nations , who live under Laws and Government : for there is no such Nation but thinks fit to restrain Wickedness by a publick Vengeance on those who commit it : indeed their Laws and Punishments are not always the same , nor do they all punish the same Crimes , nor with the same Punishments ; but all of them punish such Crimes as they think injurious to the Publick , which is the principal concernment of Civil Government , and inflict such Penalties on them , as they judge proportioned to such Crimes , or sufficient to restrain the commission of them ; some Capital , some Pecuniary Mulcts , Confiscation of Goods , loss of Honour , Corporal Punishments , Imprisonment , Banishment , or some publick Marks of perpetual Infamy , which is a certain argument , that the Wisdom of all Nations thinks it fit , that Wickedness should be punished , that those who do Evil should suffer evil ; and indeed all Mankind is so sensible of this , that there is not a greater Reproach to any Government then the Impunity of Vice , nor a greater Glory to it than the strict and equal Administration of Justice .

Where publick Justice fails , as it does in a great many instances , we must next appeal to private Revenge , to understand what the sence of Mankind is about the desert of Sin ; for there is not a more natural , nor more eager Passion in Humane Nature ; all Men naturally desire to return the Injury they suffer upon the heads of those who do it , and account it no Injury , but a great act of Justice to do so . In many Nations some private Injuries have been left to private Revenge ; and the Jewish Law itself permitted a Retaliation of Injuries , an Eye for an Eye , and a Tooth for a Tooth , though it did not permit the injured Person to take this Revenge himself , but made the publick Magistrate the Judge of it .

It may be you will wonder , I should appeal to the impatient thirst and appetite of Revenge , to prove the sence of Mankind , that Sin ought to be punished , when private Revenge itself is a great Evil , and forbid by the Gospel of our Saviour ; but for all that , Revenge is a natural Passion , and speaks the furious rage and language of Nature , that Sin ought to be punished . It is that Passion in us , which ministers to punitive Justice , as a natural tenderness and compassion does to Charity ; and therefore the passion itself is not sinful , though the irregular exercise of it is : it is implanted in all Mankind , as the love of Justice is , but all Men must not execute Revenge , no more than every Man can administer Justice : where every Man is a Minister of Justice , he may execute his Revenge too ; that is , where there are no publick Laws and Government ; but when we are incorporated into Civil Societies , private Revenge is superseded by publick Justice , and to revenge ourselves is an Offence against the State ; but this publick Justice is executing Revenge still , tho' without that partiality and passion which Men betray in their own cause : and tho' our Saviour forbids private Revenge , it is not because Sin does not deserve to be punished , but to teach us those great Christian Vertues of Patience and Forgiveness , and loving Enemies , leaving Vengeance to God , who is the just Judge of the World , For vengeance is mine , I will repay it , saith the Lord : which supposes that Vengeance is due to Sin , though Christ requires his Disciples to leave it to publick Magistrates , or to God who is the Judge of the World .

As for those Sins which are not so properly the Objects either of publick or private Revenge , as doing no direct and immediate injury to any but those who commit them , such as Gluttony , Drunkenness , Prodigality , Sloth , Idleness , a vagrant , useless , fantastical Life , and the like , besides some gentle Restraints which publick Laws lay on them , they have this punishment , that they make Men contemptible and infamous , neglected and disregarded as a Reproach to Humane Nature , and useless Members of the Common-wealth ; and such publick Infamy is a very great punishment , for it is one of the worst Ingredients in all Publick Punishments .

This I think shews , what the sence of Mankind is about the desert of Sin , that Punishment is its just due : and they have given very ample testimonies also to the merits of Vertue ; for though there are no Laws to reward a private Vertue , as there are to punish Vice , yet publick Honours , by the consent of Mankind , are thought the just Rewards of an eminent Vertue : This has procured the favour of the People and advanced such deserving Men to the highest places of Trust and Dignity in the Commonwealth ; when such Men are advanced , it is with a publick Applause , as due to them ; no Man envies their Greatness , or grudges to come behind them ; whereas publick Honours are thought misplaced on bad Men , and set so ill-favouredly on them , as exposes them to publick Scorn and Envy . Let us then sum up this Argument , and consider the just Consequence of it : There is an essential difference between Vertue and Vice ; and according to the sence of all Mankind , Vertue deserves to be rewarded , and Wickedness punished ; and can we think then , that if God governs the World , he will not judge Mankind , that he will not reward the Good , and punish the Wicked ? Has he implanted a Natural Principle of Revenge and Justice in Men , and taught them to erect publick Courts of Justice for the punishment of Vice , and will he not punish it himself ? Has he given such a natural grace and beauty to Vertue , as attracts to itself the love , the praise , the admiration , the rewards of Men , and will he himself have no regard for it ? Has he made Vice infamous and contemptible , and will he cast no shame , no reproach on it ? Would not the very Order of Nature complain of this , should the God of Nature have no regard to it ?

For we must observe , that according to the general sence of Mankind , Vertue and Vice deserve to be rewarded and punished , not only by Men , but by God too ; this is the foundation of that terrible Objection against Providence , that good Men are many times great Sufferers in this World , and the wicked very prosperous ; which supposes , that if God govern the World , he must punish bad Men , and reward the good , because the nature of Things require it , and he cannot be a just Governour if he do not ; either Men ought never more to make this Objection against Providence , or they must allow , that if there be a God , he will judge the World . And indeed there is much more reason to expect this from God then from Men , especially since the Administration of Justice among Men is so corrupt , imperfect , or defective , that neither Vertue nor Vice will ever have their just Rewards , unless he take it into his own hands . And this brings me to a third branch of this Argument for a Future Judgment :

III. That the Natural Notions we have of God prove , that he will judge the World . All Men who believe a God , acknowledge him to be the Soveraign Lord of all the World , infinitely wise , holy , good , and just ; now it seems impossible to me , though we had no Revelation of his Will , what he would do , that such a Being as this should not judge the World . As to consider this matter particularly , but very briefly :

1. If he be the Soveraign Lord of the World , then he has Power and Authority to judge ; nay , there is no other Being has Power and Authority to judge the World but himself ; that if he will not judge the World , the World can never be judged . And yet as I have already proved the essential differences of Good and Evil necessarily require that Man should be judged , that good Men should b● rewarded , and the wicked punished ; and if there must be a Judgment , then God who is the Soveraign Lord , and the only Judge of the World , must judge Mankind : If Judgment be necessary , as the nature of Things prove , and as the general consent and unbyassed reason of Mankind agree it is , if we cannot hence conclude , that God will judge the World , I am sure we can never know any thing certainly of God by Reason , for there is nothing which Reason concludes more expresly and positively than this .

2. As for the other Attributes and Perfections of the Divine Nature , such as Wisdom , Holiness , Goodness , Justice , if God be the Soveraign Lord of the World , we must consider them as the Attributes of a Soveraign ; it is the Wisdom , the Holiness , the Goodness , the Justice of a Soveraign Lord : and therefore the proper exercise of these Attributes in God consists in the exercise of a Soveraign Authority and Power ; that is , in governing and judging Mankind wisely , holily , with Goodness and Justice ; and this certainly proves , that God as Soveraign Lord , does govern and judge the World , for he cannot exercise his Wisdom , or Holiness , or Goodness , or Justice as Soveraign , if he exercise no Acts of Soveraignty : He cannot judge wisely , holily , or righteously , if he do not judge at all ; and therefore though he be wise , and holy , and j●st , and good , yet he is not a wise , and holy , and just , and good Soveraign , for as Soveraign he exercises none of these Attributes , if he does not judge the World , if he do not reward good Men , nor punish the wicked ; which the Wisdom , the Holiness , the Goodness of a Soveraign requires . And therefore if the Natural Notion all Mankind have of God , joyns his Soveraignty with his other Attributes , as it must do , unless we can divide God from himself ; that he is not only a wise , and holy , and just , and good Being , but that he is a wise , and holy , and just , and good Soveraign Lord of the World , we must confess that God does govern the World , and display all these Attributes and Perfections in the Government of it . I might add a great deal more upon this Argument , but this is so very plain and demonstrative , that there is no need of it .