of the nature of various parts, we may certainly argue to the nature of the whole. As, let us but diligently observe a wise and good man, who is uniform and steady in his ways; and, from repeated instances of his conduct, we shall enter into the knowledge of his temper in general, and perceive the views and designs which govern him. So, let us but attend to the divine conduct, as recorded in that book, which may justly be denominated the history of the Deity, and enter into his views and designs, in particular instances of his conduct, as there intimated; and we may, with sufficient certainty, determine his moral character, and the general nature and design of his whole plan. Show me, therefore, his views and designs in suffering Joseph to be sold; Israel to be oppressed; Pharaoh to harden his heart; Israel to murmur and rebel, and fall in the wilderness; and let me into the wisdom of his conduct, in these particular parts of his grand scheme, and then assure me that the whole system is governed by the same infinitely wise Being; and how can I doubt the wisdom of the whole, while I behold the wisdom of these particular parts? or how can I be at a loss for the general nature of the whole, while I behold the nature of these particular parts, and firmly believe that God always acts like himself, and keeps up a constant uniformity through all the infinite varieties of cases and circumstances, that ever occur in his moral government of the world?

6. If, therefore, the plan which infinite wisdom contrived, to bring Jacob's family into Egypt, and from thence through the Red Sea and wilderness into Canaan, in which so much sin was permitted, and so much misery endured, was, all things considered, the wisest and best; as being so exactly suited to set all the perfections of God in the fullest and strongest point of light, and at the same time to unmask their hearts, and set their absolute dependence on God, and great obligations to him, and the infinite evil of sin, in such a light, as had the most powerful tendency to induce them, with penitent, humble, broken hearts, in an entire self-dffidence, to put their trust only in God, and be wholly devoted to him; to fear him, and love him, and walk in all his ways, and keep all his commands, seeking his glory;-I say, if that plan was the wisest that could have been contrived to answer these ends, and so the best suited to promote the glory of God, and the best good of the Israelites, and to answer many noble ends in that age, and in all succeeding generations; such, no doubt, must be the whole of God's moral government of the world; in which immensely great plan so much sin is permitted, and so much misery endured; that is, it must be the best contrived scheme

possible, to advance the glory of God, and the best good of the moral system.

I am sensible there are many objections which will be apt to arise in the reader's mind, and which are capable of being put into a very plausible dress, and which, at first sight, may seem to appear quite unanswerable. Nor am I unwilling they should be set in their strongest light. It is best to look on all sides, and that with the utmost care and impartiality. And every honest reader, who sincerely desires to know the truth; to understand the reasons of the divine conduct, and to see the wisdom, glory, and beauty of his universal plan, will be naturally disposed to look up to heaven, and say, "O thou Father of lights, thou Fountain of all knowledge, sensible that we lack wisdom, and encouraged by thy gracious invitation, we come to thee, who givest liberally to all that ask, nor upbraidest, nor deniest the most unworthy, who ask in the name of Christ; open thou our eyes, that we may see the wisdom of thy government, and behold the beauty of thy conduct, that we may not only justify thy ways to men, but still, more than ever, love and fear that fearful and glorious name of thine, the Lord our God!" For there is not one point, in natural or revealed religion, attended with so great difficulties as this: therefore we greatly need to have our hearts purified, and our minds enlightened by divine grace, that, with a good taste and an unbiased judgment, we may search into the hidden mysteries of God's great and eternal kingdom.

1. "How could it be for the honor of the Supreme Lord and Governor of the universe, to suffer Satan, his enemy, by his lies, to deceive, seduce, and persuade innocent man to rebel against his sacred Majesty, and subject himself and all his race to death and ruin ?"

2. "How could it be to the best good of the moral system, that this lower world, instead of being inhabited by a race of incarnate angels, ever celebrating the praises of their great Creator, perfectly happy in his image and favor, should sink down into so near a resemblance to hell, in wickedness and woe? O, how infinitely better would it have been, if, instead of sin and misery here, and eternal pains of hell hereafter, to be suffered by such innumerable multitudes, all had been forever holy and happy!"

3. How can it be made to appear, that sin and misery were at all needful, much less absolutely necessary, in a system originally holy and happy, to answer any valuable ends? Would it not be to limit the Holy One of Israel, to say, that he

could find out no other way so good as this to exalt God, and render the system holy and happy?

4. "If God wills sin, then it seems sin is agreeable to his will. And if, from all eternity, he decreed the creatures, then it seems their misery suits him. as is granted on all hands, are directly contrary to Scripture."

misery of his Both which, reason and to

Before we attempt a direct answer to these objections, let three or four things be premised.

1. Be it so, that God's permitting sin and misery to enter into the world, appears to us ever so dark; yet this is no argument at all against the wisdom, glory, and beauty of the divine conduct, in this affair. For there have been instances of the divine conduct, in all appearance dark to perfection, which, in the result, have proved perfect in wisdom and beauty. When Jacob saw his son's coat all stained with blood, he had nothing but darkness and death before his eyes. "An evil beast," said he, "hath devoured him. Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces." Wherefore he "rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth, and mourned for his son, and refused to be comforted." Nor had he the least gleam of light, for above twenty years, in this dark affair; yea, it grew darker, when Simeon was left bound in Egypt, never to be released, unless Benjamin went also. "Joseph is not," says he, "and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away. All these things are against me." So he spake, and so he thought; for so things appeared; but yet, afterwards, he viewed the whole plan in a very different light, as being contrived and brought about by infinite wisdom. and goodness. And doubtless he was ready to say, "Never let me, a poor short-sighted creature, venture again to call in question the wisdom of the Supreme Governor of the world, all whose ways are perfect. Remember it, O my soul, from this time forward; and, for the future, let me learn to do my duty, and cheerfully leave God to order all things as he pleases; firmly believing all his conduct to be wise, whether I can see through it or not."

And how dark to Moses, fled into the land of Midian to save his life, must the divine conduct appear, in suffering his brethren, the children of Israel, to be so cruelly used by Pharaoh? Nor had he the least gleam of light, in this dark affair, for forty years; yet it afterwards appeared to be full of the wonderful wisdom of God, as we have before observed; and, no doubt, Moses saw it to his abundant satisfaction.

But as for the inhabitants of Egypt, when they heard that Pharaoh, their grand monarch, and all his hosts, were drowned

in the Red Sea; and as for the Israelites, whose carcasses were doomed to fall in the wilderness, these dispensations were to them so dark, and they in such a temper, that it was near or quite impossible they should see the wisdom of God in them. Nor was it strange they could not see. But this leads me

2. That it is not at all strange that God's conduct, in the permission of sin, should appear exceeding dark to us, how wise, glorious, and beautiful soever it is in itself, and in the eyes of God. (1.) Because our views of God's grand plan are so very imperfect. When God has finished his scheme, all holy beings will easily see the beauty of it; for then it will appear what he had in view, and how wisely every thing was ordered to answer the noblest and best ends. It was easy, when Jacob beheld Joseph governor over all the land of Egypt, for him to see through an affair, which before, for a long course of years, had been absolutely inexplicable. Besides, (2.) It is not strange that God's present plan of government appears so dark to us, however divine and glorious it is in itself, considering how ill a taste we have. It is not to be expected that fallen creatures, greatly alienated from the Deity, and of a temper quite contrary to his, should be suited with his plan of government. If wicked men are enemies to God, and enemies to his law, as the Scriptures teach, (Rom. viii. 7,) they are not in a capacity to discern a plan all over divine. It was not strange that the Egyptians could not see the wisdom of God in the overthrow of Pharaoh and his hosts. Nor was it strange that the wicked Israelites were so far from seeing the wisdom of God, in dooming their carcasses to fall in the wilderness, that they were rather disposed to blaspheme his name. Yea, they began their blasphemy before they received their doom. And when they might have gone right on to Canaan, had it not been their own fault, they began to say, that God had brought them out of Egypt on purpose to destroy them, (Num. xiv.) just as some desperate sinners, who are deaf to all the calls of the gospel, and refuse to march for the heavenly Canaan, sometimes, in fits of horror, are ready to think that God made them on purpose to damn them. It is easy for us to see the unreasonableness and perverseness of the children of Israel; and impenitent, obstinate sinners are evidently quite as much to blame but you cannot make them see it; nor could Moses make the Israelites see it in their case. Nor is it to be expected that creatures, so far sunk into depravity and guilt, will be disposed to justify God and his ways, although all his dispensations are ever so wise and just; but then their dislike to the

divine government, be it ever so great, is no sign but that it is perfectly wise, holy, just, and good. Moses thought not the less honorably of God's conduct in the overthrow of Pharaoh, because it looked so dark to the Egyptians. Nor do the inhabitants of heaven think the less honorably of God's conduct in the permission and punishment of sin, in general, because it looks so dark to obstinate sinners. God has given us an instance.

About one hundred and sixty-eight years before the Babylonish captivity, after the Israelites had been in the promised land six hundred and ninety-three years, and, by their perverseness, had worn out God's patience, so that God was provoked to give them up to their hearts' lusts, Isaiah was sent with this awful message to them: "Go and tell the people, Hear ye, indeed, but understand not: see ye, indeed, but perceive not; make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes," etc. "Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate." (Isa. vi.) Than which nothing could look more dark to the guilty Jews, thus doomed to destruction. Yet, to the inhabitants of heaven, God's conduct, in all this, appeared to be unutterably glorious; so that, upon the occasion, they even "cried," as under the deepest impressions, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory." So again, (Rev. xix.,) we have the heavenly hosts represented as in the highest ecstasy of joy, on occasion of the destruction of mystical Babylon; which yet, no doubt, when it comes to pass, will appear inexpressibly dark and glorious to the pope and his party; although the poor persecuted saints in popish countries will be ready to join the heavenly hosts in their songs of praise.

3. When I think over former dispensations of ProvidenceJoseph's affair, and how dark it appeared to Jacob; the case of the Israelites in sore bondage in Egypt, and how dark it appeared to Moses, fled into Midian; and that this Jacob and this Moses were the best of men, and the favorites of Heaven; and yet the divine conduct to them was absolutely unaccountable; and as I look along through the Bible, I can think of other instances of the like nature, one after another, till I come to the crucifixion of Christ, the most horrid sin that was ever committed; an affair exceeding dark to the disciples, the best of men then in the world, and who were even ready, things looked so dark, to give up all hopes of his being the Messiah; I say, when I consider these, I cannot but conclude, that if the most holy and knowing men on earth were entirely unable to solve the fore-mentioned difficulties relative to the