fin. The legiflature, in all moral accountable beings, is a capacity to underfland, connected with the caufes and means of knowledge, which, ftanding or exifting on finite and limited principles, will justify my fuppofition, that fin, in its nature, ought to be confidered finite and limited, rather than infinite and unlimited, as has, by many, been fuppofed.

By offering my reafons against the infinity of fin, I fhall open to an easy method of fhowing it to be finite. The fuppo fition that fin is infinite, is fupported, or rather pretended to be fupported, on the confideration of its being committed against an infinite law, which is produced by an infinite legislature, who is God himself. I have before obferved, and I think justly, that the intention of a legislature, in legiflation, must be thwarted, in order for the law to take cognition of sin. Now if God, in a direct fenfe of fpeaking, is the legislator of the law which is thwart. ed by transgression, in the fame direct fenfe of fpeaking, his intentions in legislation are thwarted. With eyes open, the reader cannot but fee, that if fin is infinite because it is committed against an infinite law, whofe author is God, the defign of Deity must be abortive; to fuppofe which, brings a cloud of darkness over the mind, as intense as the fuppofition

is erroneous. It cannot with any proprie. ty be fuppofed, that any rational being can have an intention contrary to the knowledge which he poffeffes. Was a refolve brought into the State Legislature to be paffed into an act, it would be very unlikely to fucceed, providing the legislature knew that the intention of the act would utterly fail. It is poffible, and very frequently the cafe, that imperfect beings desire contrary to their knowledge; but this, in every inftance, is proof and often the cause of their misery. In fuch cafes, mifery rises to an exact proportion to the ftrength of defire. Now to reason juflly, we must conclude, that if God poffeffes infinite wisdom, he could never intend any thing to take place, or to be, that wid not take place, or be; nor that which is or will be, not to be, at the time when it is. And it must be confidered erroneous to fuppofe that the All wise ever desired any thing to take place, which, by his wif dom, he knew would not; as fuch a fuppofition must, in effect, fuppofe a degree of misery in the eternal mind, equal to the strengh of his fruitless desire ! Were this the cafe, all the mifery to which mortals are fubject, bears not the thousandth part of the proportion to the miferies of the Divine Being, as the fmalleft imaginable atom does to the weight of the ponderous

globe; providing, at the fame time, the idea of infinity is attached to Deity! Again, if we admit of a disappointment te the Supreme Being, even in the fmalleft matter of confideration, it follows, that we have no fatisfactory evidence whereby to prove that any thing, at prefent, in the whole univerfe, is as the fupreme intend

ed.

All the harmonies of nature, which, to the eye of wondering man, are fo convincing of the exiftence of that power, wifdom and goodnefs which he adores, may have continued their laws in active force much longer than God intended; brought into existence millions of beings more than were contemplated in creation; and by this time become a perfect nuifance to the general plan of the Almighty. The admiffion of the error refuted, would fink the mind to the nether parts of moral depravity, where darknefs reigns in all its

horrors.

The above arguments are introduced, to fhow the abfurdity of admitting a violation of the intention of the Supreme Legislator.

I now turn on the other fide, & admit, as a fact, what I have fufficiently refuted, viz. that the intentions of God as a Supreme Legislator are violated by the sin of fi. nite beings; but muft beg leave to inform the reader that the propofition will by o means afford the intended confequen.

ces; but yields me an argument in favor of the finite nature of sin, which I do not want, and of which I fhall make no other ufe than to explode the proposition itself. If any intention of deity was ever thwarted, it proves, without evafion, that he is not infinite; iffo, his will, or intention, cannot be infinite; and, therefore, the confequences intended by the propofition are forever loft, as they exift only upon the fuppofition of his being infinite. If it be argued, that the intentions of Deity, as a legislator, are violated, not strictly in an infinite sense, but in fome fubordinate degree, it is giving up the ground contended for, to all intents; for, if the intention violated, is not infinite, the sin of violating it, cannot be infinite.

Again, if fin is infinite and unlimited, it cannot be fuperfeded by any principle or being in the universe; for goodness cannot be more than infinite, neither is there a degree for Deity to occupy above it. And it may be further argued, that the admiffion of the error refuted, would be a denial of any Supreme Being in the univerfe; for as Deity does not fuperfede sin, he cannot be superior to that which is equal to himself!

Again, I further enquire, can that be confidered as an infinite evil, which is

limited in its consequences? The anfwer must be in the negative. If fin is an infinite evil, and infinite in its consequences, as an evil not only all created beings muft fuffer endleffly by it, but God himself can never ceafe to experience the torment giving power of that which he is unable to avoid! I fay more, if fin is infinite and unlimited, for it must be unlimited, if it is infinite, it follows that there is no fuch principle in the univerfe, as any one property which we are wont to attri bute to the Almighty; for, if once we admit a principle of divine justice to have an existence, it is granted that sin is bounded by it, and therefore, cannot be infinite; and it is a fact that fin can no where exift, only where it can be compared with juflice. Again, it ought not to be fuppofed, that the intentions of Deity were ever violated, if we admit, at the fame time, that he had power to avoid fuch violation. And who, in their fenfes, will fay, that, that which is unavoidable by God, is avoidable by man?

Enough, undoubtedly, is faid, to fhow the egregious mistake of fuppofing fin to be infinite; and more need not be written on the fubje&, were it not by some contended, that Job xxii. 5, is in full proof of the infinity of fin. "Is not thy wicked. nefs great? and thine iniquities infinite?"