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"action, may become an excitement to the "actor, and to others to perform the like good actions, in hope of obtaining the "like reward; and though the punishing a "perfon, for performing an evil action, may become a means to refrain the actor, and others from doing the like evil actions, thereby to avoid their falling un"der the like correction; yet these are rather "the effects and confequences of, than the ground and foundation of rewards and

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punishments. Rewards and punishments "have their reafon in what is past, and not "in what is to come. It is the valuableness "of a past action, which renders one man

worthy of reward; and it is the vileness "of a past action, which renders another man worthy and deferving of punishment. And as refentment and gratitude are the fprings "of action to men, in the prefent cafe; fo they are both excited by what is past, and "not by any thing which is to come. Ic "is mens bad actions, which raife in us "the paffion of refentment; and it is mens

good actions, which excite in us the affec"tion of gratitude. And as thefe are made parts of the human conftitution, by the great Author of our being; fo, I think, they are equally founded in reafon, whilst "under the direction and government of it. "That is, whilft directed to proper objects,

and kept within due bounds." And this is the cafe with refpect to God; he rewards

one

one being becaufe his precedent behaviour has rendered him worthy of, or the proper object of fuch reward; and he punishes another becaufe his precedent behaviour has rendered him juftly deferving of, or the proper object of fuch punishment. And tho' there be no fuch thing, ftrictly fpeaking, as paffions or affections in God, yet there is the reasonableness and fitness of the thing in the present cafe, which is as much a fpring and principle of action to him, as paffions and affections are to us. Paffions and affections were placed in, or made a part of our conftitution, in order to excite us to perform right actions, (tho' they very often occafion the contrary); and therefore, it would be right and fit for us, as moral agents, to perform thofe actions even if we were void of all paffion and affection, which is the cafe with respect to God. "And fuppofing the only reafon for "rewards and punishments, in civil fociety, "were, to excite men to perform good ac"tions, and to reftrain them from doing "what is evil, without any regard to the perfonal merit or demerit of the actor;

yet that alters not the cafe here, because "it is not what is the ground and founda"tion of rewards and punishments in point of policy, but what is fuch in point of rea

e

fon and morality, which is the fubject of "our prefent enquiry. Tho', I think, punish"ments in civil fociety are not to be confi"dered barely as medicinal, but also as acts

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"of

"of publick refentment, in which the fuffering perfon is afflicted, because he is inju"rious and hurtful to fociety, as well as to

prevent the like evils for time to come. "For as it is evident that laws with their "fanctions, viz. the threatnings and promifes "annexed to them look forward, and have "their reafon in what is to come, namely, to "direct the future behaviour of men, and

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to engage them to act accordingly; fo it is "alike evident, that the execution of those fanctions, in rewarding and punishing, looks backward, and hath its reafon in what is past; namely, one man is rewarded because he has kept, and another man is punished "because he has tranfgreffed the law. And "tho' rewards and punishments may have "an influence upon mens future behaviour,

yet that is, as I have obferved above, ra"ther a confequence of, than the reafon of them, it being mens past actions which are "the ground and reafon of their distribu

"tion.'

As there is a natural and an effential dif ference in things; and as there is a rule of action refulting from that difference, which every moral agent ought in reason to direct and govern his behaviour by; and as there are in confequence thereof, fome actions fit to be performed, and others fit to be avoided, which actions are juftly approveable or condemnable; fo fome of thofe actions afford a juft ground or reafon of action to a by-ftan

der,

der, who is no way interested in them, to act differently toward the actor, according to the virtuousness or viciousness of thofe actions. Some actions have fuch an intrinfick goodnefs and valuableness in them, as render the actor not only lovely and amiable to a byftander, but also worthy of his highest regard, worthy that the actor's goodness should be recompenced upon his own head, worthy, that is to fay, fit and reasonable, that every other intelligent being, within whofe notice it comes, and where power and opportunity ferve, fhould contribute to the increase of his felicity; which contribution is called reward. And this is the cafe, when confidered abftractedly from the medicinal influence of fuch reward. Again there are other actions which have fuch an inherent vileness and baseness in them, as not only render the actor justly odious and contemptible to a by-ftander, who is no way interested in them; but also worthy of his juft difpleafure, worthy that the actor's wicked actions should be recompenced upon his own head, worthy, that is to fay, fit and reasonable, that every other intelligent being fhould contribute to his mifery, as the demerit of his vile actions deferves; which contribution is properly called punishment. And this is the cafe when confidered abstractedly from the medicinal influence of fuch punishment. And,

That there are, or may be, fome actions which render the actor worthy of favour or

reward,

reward, and others which render the actor worthy of displeasure or punishment, when confidered abstractedly from the medicinal influence of fuch reward or punishment, is exemplified in the parable before cited. There we have the relation of a king who would take an account of his fervants; and that one was brought unto him who owed him ten thousand talents. This was a debt which, as it was juftly contracted to his lord, and therefore with equal juftice might be demanded by him; fo it was far above the fervant's ability to pay and therefore his lord required that he fhould be fold, and his wife and children, and all that he had, that payment might be made. This was a hard faying, taking all circumftances into the cafe: and, if the command had been executed, would have been a very fevere thing; because tho' the fervant had juftly contracted the aforefaid debt, and if he had been in circumftances fufficient for that purpose, it would have been his bounden duty to have paid it; yet as this debt far exceeded his ability to pay, and as he had not, by any precedent misbehaviour, rendered himself unworthy of his lord's pity and benevolence; fo for his lord to have withheld it from him, under thefe circumftances, would have been a hard and severe thing. However, his lord commanded that he should be fold, and his wife and children, and all that he had, that payment might be made. This fevere fen

tence