benefit; and on this hypothesis, encourages them not to faint, nor be discouraged, but rather to take all well, and improve all to their spiritual good. (Heb. x. xi. xii.) And in this light, all the people of God, from the very earliest ages, have been wont to view the injuries they received from wicked men as coming from the hand of God. So Job, when the Sabeans and Chaldeans had robbed him, views them only as instruments used by God to answer holy and wise ends. "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." So when Eglon, king of Moab, came against Israel in the time of the judges, it was looked upon that God had strengthened him to do it, thereby to chastise them for their crimes. So when Shimei, in a most malicious manner, cursed David, he saw the hand of God in it, and said, "The Lord hath bidden him." So when Hadad the Edomite, and Rezon the son of Eliadah, endeavored to disturb Solomon's peaceful reign, it was believed, by good people, that God stirred them up to do it, to chastise Solomon for his sins; as was also the case with Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that wicked pretender, who afterwards "made Israel to sin." And when Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, through the pride of his heart and the ill advice of his young men, returned a rough answer to his subjects, which issued in the loss of ten tribes, and was followed with a long series of calamities for many generations, it was said, that "the cause was of God, that the Lord might perform his word." And when Amaziah king of Judah, through the vanity of his mind, challenged Joash the king of Israel to battle, which issued in his own overthrow, it was viewed as coming from God. "For it came of God that he might deliver them into the hands of their enemies, because they sought after the gods of Edom." And when Ahab was seduced by his false prophets to go up to Ramath Gilead to battle, to the loss of his life, the whole plan is represented as being laid in heaven. (1 Kings xxii.) And when that proud tyrant, the king of Babylon, the hammer of the whole earth, had destroyed Jerusalem, burnt down the holy temple, and laid all their country in ruins, pious people all saw the hand of God in it, and believed that, "at the commandment of the Lord came this upon Judah." time would fail, to mention all the instances of this nature recorded in God's holy word. And surely it must be needless, when, as in our present war, we through all New England have in so public a manner joined universally to profess and act upon this very principle, that wicked men are in the hands of God, and can do nothing but by his permission, and are absolutely at his control; for which reason we have had public

But

fasts, and public thanksgivings, relative to the war, as though we firmly believed the universal extent of divine providence.

as

But if the providence of God extends to the lesser, it does much more to the greater concerns of the intellectual system, our Savior reasons. (Matt. x. 29, 30, 31.) If it extends to the sinful actions of men in this fallen world, which are comparatively but of little consequence, much more to the original introduction of sin into the moral system, which was an affair, strictly speaking, of infinite consequence. If it extends to the sparrows, one of which was valued at but half a farthing, so that they could not any of them fall on the ground without God's all-seeing eye and all-ordering hand, much more to the fall of angels, and to the fall of man, beings of more value than many sparrows. If the very hairs of our heads are all numbered, much more is God concerned about the spiritual and eternal welfare of the whole intellectual system; so that we may have the greatest assurance that, ever since the creation, not one evil thing has come to pass, but under the eye of the Omniscient; determined, permitted, and overruled by infinite wisdom and perfect rectitude. Do you believe this, my friend? Indeed you must believe it with all your heart, for this is "the Scripture account of the matter.' Besides,

2. God is a being of absolute perfection; infinite in wisdom, perfect in rectitude, boundless in goodness, who has an infinite regard to his own honor and to the good of the system; as reason and revelation teach. And as, from the absolute perfection of the divine nature, it is impossible for God to lie, so, for the same reason, it is impossible he should counteract any of his perfections. Therefore the whole of his conduct towards the intellectual system is absolutely perfect, and is no more capable of emendation than God is of becoming holier and wiser than he now is; for he must necessarily choose the best plan from eternity, and necessarily abide by it to eternity. For,

3. The Holy Scriptures give us the fullest assurance, that God is "the same yesterday, to-day, and forever;" "of one mind; " "with whom there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning ;" and that "his counsel shall stand, and he will do all his pleasure." So that he never did, and never can, alter his original plan, or suffer himself to be disappointed. (Ps. xxxiii. 10, 11.)

He laid a scheme to bring the Israelites to the land of Canaan, and promised to do the thing; nor could all their wickedness in the wilderness provoke him to give up the design; yea, he was disposed to prosecute it just as much as if they had not sinned; as he informed Balaam, to the terror of Balak.

"God is not a man, that he should lie, neither the son of man, that he should repent; he hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel." He had laid a scheme to continue the Jews his visible people until the coming of the Messiah and the setting up of the Christian church, nor could all their sins before the Babylonish captivity, nor all their perverseness afterwards, induce him to cast them off, and give up his design. No. "I am the Lord," says he. "I change not." I abide by my original plan. "Therefore, ye sons of Jacob," infinitely provoking as your conduct is, "are not consumed." He wrought for his great name's sake through the whole affair; and his infinite resolution to accomplish his glorious plan kept him immovable, and finally carried him through, in spite of all possible provocations from a most ungrateful, perverse people; even as he himself had declared, when, speaking of this very thing, he says, "the zeal of the Lord of Hosts will perform this."

And as nothing could ever induce the unchangeable God to alter any of his plans himself,* so none of his creatures were ever able to disconcert them. Joseph's brethren attempted to do it in one instance, and Pharaoh struggled still much more to do it in another; but, in both cases, all they did was overruled to accomplish the divine designs to the best advantage. God had laid a scheme to bring the Jews, out of the Babylonish captivity, to their own land. The thing looked to them almost impossible. They walked in darkness, and saw no light. "Trust in the Lord, and stay yourselves on your God," said the Almighty, speaking of this very thing, for "my counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure." And if the Almighty would not suffer himself to be disappointed in his lesser schemes, which were of smaller importance, much less will he suffer himself to be frustrated in his grand universal plan, which is of infinitely greater concern, and in which his own honor, and the eternal welfare of the whole system, are infinitely interested.

Besides, if we do but really and firmly believe the absolute omniscience and all-sufficiency of him who is King of kings and Lord of lords, we cannot but see the reason of the thing, and be

• God laid a scheme to bring the Ninevites to repentance. He sent Jonah to preach, and threaten destruction. The Ninevites are brought to repentance, exactly according to his design; so that he did not alter, but exactly accomplish his plan in that case. The same may be said of all other instances of the like kind recorded in Scripture; which, however, are sometimes, contrary to all reason, used to prove that the omniscient God may, on new views, alter his purposes; when, in fact, he would not be omniscient were he capable of so much as one new idea.

still further assured that he can neither alter any of his plans himself, nor possibly be disappointed by any of his creatures; for, from eternity, all possible plans lay open to his view; he had his choice, he chose the best; and what in all nature can induce him to alter his choice, and prefer one not so good? Upon after-consideration, we often have new thoughts, or view things in a different light, and so alter our schemes for the better; but God has not had one new idea since he has been in existence. From eternity he existed, and from eternity all things were perfectly in his view. It is therefore absolutely impossible he should ever see any reason to change his purposes; and equally impossible he should change them absolutely, without any reason at all. And his infinite wisdom and almighty power, whereby he is absolutely all-sufficient, and able with the greatest ease to do according to his pleasure, in the armies of heaven and amongst the inhabitants of the earth, renders it simply impossible that any of his creatures, by power or policy, should be able to disconcert any of his schemes. And this he knows; and this lays a solid foundation for his perfect tranquillity and complete self-enjoyment; and in the view of this he can be perfectly happy, and even without one uneasy thought, at the head of the universe, let the storms here below rise ever so high. "The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea." And this renders him a fit object of trust, a secure refuge to his people, "though the earth be removed and the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea." But this leads me to add,

4. Be firmly persuaded of the perfect and unchangeable happiness of the Holy One of Israel; or, in other words, believe with all your heart that he is, not only in name, but in deed and in truth, "over all, God blessed for ever."

I grant, he is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity; an infinitely holy and good being; infinitely engaged to advance his own honor and the good of his own world. I grant, that sin in its own nature is infinitely to his dishonor, and tends to the utter ruin of the whole universe. I grant also, that, to set forth God's infinite abhorrence of sin, and its contrariety to his perfect felicity, and natural tendency really to put him to pain and distress his heart, God is often said, in the language of Scripture, to be "grieved," to be "vexed," to be "wearied," to be "tried," to be "pressed as a cart full of sheaves;" and could sin finally disappoint God's glorious designs, and frustrate the original scheme he had in view in the creation of the universe, break up the plan on which his heart was so infinitely set;

could this be, I grant, that he would be not only less happy as you inadvertently have intimated that in fact he now is, in saying, that he would have had "greater pleasure" if things had been otherwise-I say, not only less happy, but really miserable; and that to an infinite degree: even equal to his infinite regard to his own honor, and to the good of the universe. To see himself disappointed, finally and forever, in what was infinitely dear to him; and that in spite of the utmost exertion of his infinite wisdom and almighty power; and disappointed by his own creatures, the clay in his own hands, headed by the devil, his avowed enemy; were such an event possible, would make him feel himself not to be almighty and all-sufficient; not to be God; not to be King, supreme and independent; but to lie at the mercy of his creatures: yea, horrible as the expression is, to lie at the mercy of the devil, the grand enemy to God and to all good; which feeling must render the misery of such a being as God is, absolutely complete. For if the devil can break up God's schemes just as he pleases, God is absolutely at his mercy as to the accomplishment of any of them.

So certain, therefore, as we are, that he is, in fact, "over all, God blessed forever," just so certain may we be, that "his counsel shall stand, and he will do all his pleasure." And the whole universe shall know that he is the Lord, and the whole system be filled with his glory.

And the omniscient, almighty God, perfectly conscious of all this, enjoys himself, absolutely superior to so much as one uncomfortable idea; and without the least uneasiness, in perfect tranquillity, is possessed of an infinite degree of happiness. Or, to express all in one word, he is "over all, God blessed forever; of whom, and through whom, and to whom, are all things: to whom be glory forever. Amen."

And what if we cannot see fully into the reasons of the divine conduct in the permission of sin, shall we think he has acted unwisely? Shall we think he does not mean to do what is best? Shall we give up the absolute perfection of the divine nature? Shall we ungod our Maker, rather than suspect our own judgment? Or shall we give up our belief of the perfect happiness of the infinitely glorious and blessed God, and believe him to be a very miserable being, rather than to think that he can be pleased with that very plan, which he has in fact chosen before all possible plans? Or, if he is perfectly pleased with his own plan, shall we fly in his face, charge him with being the author of sin, and represent the devil as the greatest saint,