HOWEVER clearly, any [...] the chief Principles of [...] may be found [...] by the [...] Light of Nature. yet all are agreed, that Matters of [...] are to be learned only from the holy Scriptures; and our Sentiments, as to such Points, are to be formed entirely from these sacred Writings. Nor is it doubted, but that we may safely believe, what we find there plainly revealed, altho' the Things are not fully understood. There are many Things we know to be true, from Experi­ence and Reason, in the natural and moral World, the Manner of which, we can by no means under­stand. The [...] knows, his Grass and Corn [Page 2] grow, the Philosopher knows his Soul and Body are united, the Divine knows that God has existed from Eternity; but these Things, and a Thousand more, as to the Manner of them, are beyond their Compre­hension: yet their Certainty is not for this Reason as all called in Question. So, if some Things, plainly revealed in the Bible, are, as to the Manner of them, beyond our Reach, it can be no Objection against their Truth.—If we cannot conceive, for Instance, what there is in the divine Essence, which may lay a just Foundation, for the one true God (and we know there is but one) to speak and act as though he were three distinct Persons; yet if we find this is, in Fact, the Case, from consulting God's holy Word, we may as firmly believe it as tho' we could fully understand it.—And if we cannot conceive how the divine Na­ture and the human should be united so as to consti­tute but one Person; yet if we find, that, in Fact, this is the Case, there is an End to all Doubt. For what God says may be as firmly believed, as what our Eyes see. Nor is there any more Reason to doubt his Word, for want of a full understanding of the Thing, than to doubt our Eye-sight on the same Account.—Let us now, then, quite willing to form our Sentiments from the holy Scriptures, apply to these sacred Writings, and enquire into the true Cha­racter of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. And perhaps, the Words of our Text may serve, as a Clue, to lead us into the true Sense of what we find written, in the old and new Testaments, on this important Subject.

"WHO being in the Form of God."—But when? Plainly, before he took upon him the Form of a Servant: before he appeared in the Likeness of Man: i. e. before his Incarnation.—But where had St. Paul any Accounts of Jesus Christ before his Appearance in [Page 3] Flesh? Did he exist, did he indeed exist, antecedent to his Incarnation? Yes, says our blessed Saviour, "Before Abraham was, I am." Joh. VIII. 58.—In the Writings of the Old-Testament, no doubt, were the Accounts, referred to by the Apostle: for "they were they which testified of him," as our Sa­viour observed to the angry Jews in Joh. V. who were enraged at his pretending to "be equal with God." ver. 18. "Search the Scriptures," (said he) to them I appeal to decide my true Character, for "they are they which testify of me." ver. 39.—In those sa­cred Writings it was, that he appeared in "the Form of God:" and spake and acted as thinking it "no Robbery to be equal with God." All which divine Glory and Splendor he laid aside, at the Time of his Incarnation; and instead of it, took on him "the Form of a Servant," and appeared in "the Like­ness of Men." Wherefore let us take a View of our blessed Saviour, as appearing, speaking and acting in this two-fold Capacity. (1.) "In the Form of God." (2.) "In the Form of a Servant, and in the Likeness of Men": that from the whole we may learn his true Character.

I. LET us view our blessed Saviour, when he ap­peared in the "Form of God," and spake and acted, as thinking it "no Robbery to be equal with God."

AND the first Time he is brought into View, in the sacred Writings, is in the first Chapter of Genesis, as the Almighty Creator of Heaven and Earth. "In the Beginning God created the Heaven and the Earth." Gen. I. 1. For we are assured by one divinely inspired, that this God, was the God, who was "manifest in the Flesh," even the very same Being who "was made Flesh and dwelt among us." For thus it is written, ‘In the Beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the WORD WAS GOD, [Page 4] the same was in the Beginning with God: ALL THINGS WERE MADE BY HIM, and without Him was not any Thing made that was made.’ Joh. I. 1, 3. For he created not only this Earth, and this solar System; but by Him were even ‘all Things created, that are in Heaven, and that are in Earth, visible and invisible, whether they be Thrones, or Do­minions, or Principalities, or Powers, ALL THINGS were created by Him.’ Col. 1. 16. So that, here, he stands forth as the "CREATOR OF THE WHOLE UNIVERSE." And "his ETERNAL POWER AND GOD-HEAD are clearly to be seen by the Things which he has made." ( Rom. 1. 20.) He is the CREATOR; and an higher Character than this the MOST HIGH GOD never assumes to himself in the sacred Writings. For this is the Style of supreme DEITY. ‘Thus saith the Lord, that created the Heavens, God himself that formed the Earth and made it: I am the LORD, and there is none else.’ Isai. XLV. 18. And in Heaven they worship the supreme God under this Character. ‘Thou art wor­thy, O Lord, to receive Glory, and Honour, and Power: for thou hast created all Things, and for thy Pleasure they are, and were created.’ Rev. IV. 11. ^*

[Page 5]AND, as Jesus Christ appears "in the Form of God" in the first Chapter of Genesis, calling universal Nature out of Nothing into Existence; so likewise does he appear, and act, and speak, as thinking it "no Robbery to be equal with God," in all the grand Dispensations of divine Providence, from the Calling of Abraham, and forward, thro' all the Jewish Dispensation.

TURN to the third Chapter of Exodus, at the begin­ning, and there you may see, ‘the Angel of the Lord appeared to Moses, in a Flame of Fire out of the midst of a Bush, ^‡ and God called unto him out of the Bush, and said, I am the God of thy Father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ Now who was this God, that thus spake to Moses? It was plainly the God who had appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; and to whom they had built Altars, and whom they had worshipped. To Jacob, in particular, as he was [Page 6] going to Padan-Aram. Gen. XXVIII. 12, 13. ‘He dreamed, and behold, a Ladder set upon the Earth, and the Top of it reached to Heaven: and the Angels of God [these were created Angels] ascend­ing and descending on it. And behold, the LORD [this was the supreme God] stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy Father, and the God of Isaac: the Land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy Seed, &c.’ And "Jacob called the Name of that Place Bethel," i. e. the House of God, ver. 19. ‘And he anointed a Pillar, and vowed a Vow, saying, If God will be with me, &c. then shall the Lord be my God’—ver. 20,—22. And when he was at Padam-Aram the same God appeared to him again, and is called the Angel of God. Gen. XXXI. "And the Angel of God spake to me in a Dream." ver. 11. This was not a created Angel; for he said, ver. 13. ‘I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the Pillar, and vowedst a Vow unto ME.’ ^† And to this God he [Page 7] afterwards built an Altar ( Chap. XXXV. 1.) and he calls upon this God, this Angel, to bless the Lads (the two Sons of Joseph) a little before his Death. ( Chap. 48. 15, 16.)—Now, who was this, sometimes called God, sometimes the Angel of God? It was, if we may give Credit to his own Declaration, ‘The God of Abraham ( Chap. XXVIII. 13.) and the God of Isaac.’—And this was the God who now ap­peared and spake to Moses in the Bush, and who afterwards gave the Law from Mount Sinai. And of him, even of this very same God, David speaks in the LXVIIIth Psalm, ver. 7, &c. ‘O God, when thou wentest forth before thy People, when thou didst march thro' the Wilderness; the Earth shook, the Heavens also dropped at the Presence of the Lord: even Sinai itself was moved at the Presence of God, the God of Israel. ver 17.—The Chariots of God are twenty Thousand, even Thousands of Angels; the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy Place, ver. 18. Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led Captivity captive, thou hast received Gifts for Men,’ &c.—And now, who was this?—Turn to the IVth Chapter of Ephesians, and there an inspired Apostle tells us, that it was Jesus Christ. ver. 8. It was He ‘Who ascended up on high, and led Captivity captive.’

[Page 8]So that it was Jesus Christ, who appeared to Abra­ham, Isaac and Jacob, to Moses in the Burning Bush, and on Mount Sinai. And He appeared in the "Form of God," and spake in the Language of supreme Deity, as thinking it "no Robbery to be equal with God," saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. I am the Lord thy God which brought thee out of the Land of Egypt, and out of the House of Bondage. Thou shalt have no other Gods before me.’ Exod. XX.—And what could he have said more than this—to set up thus for supreme God, and enjoin that none should be worshipped but himself!

AND this God, who thus brought Israel out of Egypt, and gave the Law from Mount Sinai, even he was "the KING of the Jews," their civil Chief. For their Government was a Theocracy, and God was their KING, as King George is King of Great-Britain. And therefore when in the Days of Samuel, they desired to have a King from among themselves, like the Rest of the Nations, God said, (1 Sam. VIII. 7.) "They have rejected ME, that I should not REIGN over them." (See also 1 Sam. X. 18, 19.) This was in their Hearts; for they were weary of God's Government, and did not like to be in a State of such entire Depen­dance on him, but wanted a King of their own. However God did not give up his Government over them, nor grant them a King, in the Sense they de­sired; but only nominated and constituted one to be his Vice-gerent, to be his Deputy, to govern for and under him, therefore called the Lord's anointed, God himself still their King.—Now it was at Mount Sinai God became their King, and they covenanted and promised to be his loyal and obedient Subjects. Exod. XIX. 3—8.—But that God was Jesus Christ, as has been before proved.—Therefore Jesus Christ was the KING of the Jews, and they were his peculiar [Page 9] People.—And to this St. John evidently alludes in those Words, Joh. 1. 11. "He came to his own," his own People & Nation, over whom he had reigned, "He came unto his own, and his own received him not." Yea, look up, and view him on the Cross, and read the Superscription put over him, and that will declare who he is, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS. (See Joh. XII. 15. [...]. IX. 9.)

And as their God was their King, their civil Chief; so it was suitable he should have a Palace built him, that he might dwell among them. And accordingly by his Appointment the Tabernacle was built in the Wilderness. And there he dwelt, in the Holy of Holies, as their God and King, giving out Laws and Orders from above, the Mercy-seat. In Allusion to which St. John speaking of the same God, says, "The Word was made Flesh and tabernacled among us" (for so it is in the Original.) Joh. I. 14.—And this God who thus dwelt in their Tabernacle, and whom they tempted and tried forty Years in the Wilder­ness, St. Paul testifies was Jesus Christ. 1 Cor. X. 9. "Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of Serpents." (See also Isai. LXIII. 9. Compared with Exed. XXIII. 20. and XXXIII. 14.)

AFTERWARDS, in the Days of Solomon, a Temple was built, exceeding grand and glorious; however, not equal to his infinite Greatness: for "the Hea­ven, and the Heaven of Heavens could not contain him." (1 Kin. VIII. 27.) But yet in this Temple he condescended to take up his Abode, "in the Cloud of Glory which filled the House." (2 Chron. V. 14.) And there he dwelt as God and King of the Jews. ^*—In Remembrance of which, and conscious [Page 10] to his own Dignity, our Saviour, in the Days of his Flesh, was filled with Indignation to see the Temple, once his holy Dwelling-Place, turned into an House of Merchandize, and he drove out the People.—And being questioned for this his Conduct, he answered, "Destroy this Temple (speaking of his Body) and in three Days I will raise it up." Joh. 11. 19. As if he had said, ‘I am the God who once dwelt in your Temple, now I dwell in this Body, this is now my Temple, destroy it, as I foresee you will, and in three Days I will raise it from the Dead; and in three Days I will raise it from the Dead; and there­by give you full Proof who I be, and by what Authority I do these Things.’

To Abraham he sometimes appeared as a Man. ( Gen. XVIII. 1, 2.) To Moses, in a Flame of Fire in the Bush. To all the Host of Israel, in a Pillar of Cloud by Day and of Fire by Night, from the Time they went out of Egypt till they came to Mount Sinai. On the Mount He took up his Abode till the Taber­nacle was built, and his Appearance was as devouring Fire. Exod. XXIV. 17. After the Tabernacle was built, that became the Place of his Residence; and in a Pillar of Cloud by Day and of Fire by Night, he led the Israelites thro' all the Wilderness, till he had brought them into the holy Land; and the Taber­nacle was set up at Shiloh: ( Josh. XVIII. 1.) and there He dwelt till the Days of Eli: (1 Sam. III.) when, for the Wickedness of the Children of Israel, [Page 11] He forsook Shiloh: (1 Sam. IV. Psal. LXXVIII. 60.) as he afterwards did the Temple of Solomon. ( Jer. VII. 14.) And after the Babylonish Captivity this Token of the divine Presence was never more seen. But the pious Jews were assured by the last Prophet under that Dispensation, after the building of the second Temple, that their God and King would return to their Temple again. Mal. III. 1. "The LORD whom ye seek," long­ing for his Presence as in former Days, "shall sud­denly come to HIS Temple," where he used to dwell; "even the Messenger [or Angel] of the Covenant."—But when he "came unto his own, his own received him not." ( Joh. I. 11.) For his ancient Glory was laid aside, and he appeared in the Form of a Servant, and in the Likeness of Men. Wherefore they put him to Death for claiming to be "the Son of God and King of the Jews;" not knowing that he was the LORD OF GLORY. 1 Cor. II. 8. See Hag. II. 7, 9.

BUT if we want any further Evidence, that Jesus Christ was indeed the very GOD and KING of Israel▪ let us turn to the VIth Chapter of Isaiah, where we shall find the Prophet, in a Vision, seeing "the LORD▪ sitting upon a Throne high and lifted up," as sole Monarch of the Universe, and worshipped by the heavenly Hosts as supreme God, crying, "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts, the whole Earth is full of thy Glory." ^*—And then turn to the XIIth [Page 12] Chapter of John, 41st Verse, and we shall find, that this God was JESUS CHRIST. "These Things" [ viz. the Things contained in Isai. VI. 9, 10.] "said Esaias, when he saw his Glory, and spake of him."

AND if we would see the same Thing confirmed over again, let us read the XLVth Chapter of Isaiah throughout, where we have the SUPREME God, the God of Israel, saying, ver. 5. ‘I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God besides me.—ver. 6. There is none besides me: I am the Lord, and there is none else.—ver. 11. Thus faith the Lord, the HOLY ONE of Israel.—ver. 12. I have made the Earth, and created Man upon it; I, even my Hands have stretched out the Heavens.—ver. 18. Thus faith the Lord, that created the Heavens; God Himself, that formed the Earth and made it; I am the Lord, and there is none else.—ver. 21. There is no God else besides me.—ver. 22. Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the Ends of the Earth: for I am God, and there is none else.’—And if after all this God-like Lan­guage, this was Jesus Christ, St. Paul might well say, "Who being in the Form of God, thought it no [Page 13] Robbery to be equal with God;" (nor can we have a plainer Comment on his Words, nor can we be at a Loss for their true Meaning) for he could not have appeared more as SUPREME GOD, nor possibly spoken in more decisive Language than this. ^*—And yet nothing can be plainer than that St. Paul understood, the GOD speaking thro' the whole Chapter, to be Jesus Christ. For those concluding Words in the 23d. Verse, ‘I have sworn by my self,—that unto me every Knee shall bow, and every Tongue shall swear,’ he twice expresly applies to Jesus Christ. Once in Rom. XIV. 10, 11. "It is written,—Every Knee shall bow to me." And again in Phil. II. 10, 11. "At the Name of Jesus every Knee shall bow."

YEA, the inspired Writers of the New-Testament seem constantly to consider the God and King of Israel, who in the beginning created the Heavens and the Earth, as the very same Being, who afterwards dwelt in Flesh, and was called Jesus Christ, from the Liber­ty they take to apply to Jesus Christ, in their Writ­ings, what was so evidently spoken of the God and King of Israel, in the sacred Writings of the Old-Testament.—To mention but two instances more. In all the 150 Psalms, there are none, which seem [Page 14] more plainly to speak of the SUPREME GOD than the 97th and 102nd—And yet both these are con­sidered in the New-Testament as speaking of Christ, and accordingly are applied to him.—The 97th Psalm begins with, ‘The Lord reigneth, let the Earth rejoice:’ and an inspired Writer considers it as a Representation of the glorious Reign of the Messiah. For says he, ( Heb. 1. 6.) ‘When he bringeth the first begotten into the World, he saith, And let all the Angels of God worship him:’ referring to the 7th Vase of the 97th Psalm, ‘Worship him, all ye Gods.’—And in the 102d Psalm, speaking of the SUPREME GOD, the Psalmist says, (ver. 25, 26, 27.) ‘Of old had thou laid the Foundation of the Earth, and the Heavens are the Work of thy Hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a Garment, as a Vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy Years shall have no End.’ Which is expresly applied to Jesus Christ in Heb. I. 10, 11, 12. ^*

WHEREFORE, from what has been said, it is natural to observe,—

1. THAT the GOD and KING of Israel we read, of in the Old-Testament, is the very same Being who afterwards became incarnate, and is called by the [Page 15] Name of JESUS CHRIST in the New Testament. ^‡ i. e. JESUS OF NAZARETH was really THE KING OF THE JEWS.—So certain as the Writers of the New­Testament were divinely inspired, so certainly may this be depended upon.—Therefore,

2. IT is beyond us to imagine any Evidences of the Divinity of Christ, which could possibly have been given, more clear and striking than those which have been already given.—In the Beginning he created the Heaven and the Earth, even all Things were created by him and for him. And he was the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of [...] whom they worshipped, and to whom they built Altars. He appeared to Moses in the burning Bush as the supreme God, and spake the Language [Page 16] of supreme Deity from Mount Sinai. In the Taber­nacle and Temple he dwelt in the Form of God, and always spake as thinking it no Robbery to be equal with God. To Isaiah he appeared as the Monarch of the Universe, and was worshipped by the heavenly Hosts as such. And often he repeats it, ‘I am the Lord, and there is none else, and beside me there is no God.’ And therefore swears by himself, there being no greater to swear by ( Heb. VI. 13.) that every Knee shall bow to him.—Had he been truly and indeed by Nature SUPREME GOD, what could be have done, or what could he have said, to have it made more manifest?

3. IF after all, he was not by Nature God, but a Being infinitely inferior; not the CREATOR, but a Creature; the Jewish Dispensation, which was pro­fessedly designed to establish the Worship of the ONE TRUE GOD, in Opposition to all others, was really calculated to establish Idolatry (for aught I can see) and that forever. For he appeared in the Form of God, and was taken to be supreme God, and enact­ed it as the first and chief of all his Laws, that no God should be worshipped but Himself. So that to deny his Divinity, is to say, that the God of the Hebrews was an Impostor, and to declare Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and all their Prophets, to be delud­ed Idolaters: for him they all believed to be supreme God, and him they worshipped as such.

4. BUT on the other Hand, granting the Old and New Testaments to be divinely inspired, we may behold the manifold Wisdom of God in laying out his grand Plan as he has done.—To God all his Works were known long before the Foundation of the World.—And among other Things, the Incarnation, and the Death of Christ as a propitiatory Sacrifice for Sin, were full in the divine View.—Now what Methods should be taken to [Page 17] render Mankind, and the whole intellectual System, sensible of the infinite Dignity of him who died on the Cross?—"Go," says the eternal FATHER to his SON, ‘Go, first create the World for which thou art to die, and the whole System over which thou art to reign, that how deep soever thine Abase­ment may be, thine eternal Power and God-head may be to be clearly seen by the Things thou hast made.—Go, appear to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Form of God, and speak to Moses, and on Mount Sinai, as plainly thinking it to be no Rob­bery to be equal with God, and dwell in their Ta­bernacle and Temple, and reign as God and King among them; that when in the Fulness of Time thou shalt appear in the Form of a Servant and in the Likeness of a Man, and bleed and die on the Cross, thy true Character may still be known. That when I come to perform this greatest of all my Works, to give my only begotten Son to die for the World, it may be understood by frail Mor­tals, what it is I have done.’ ^*

[Page 18]GOD foresaw, his appearing in the Form of a Ser­vant, and in the Likeness of Men, would, unless there was some Method taken to hinder it, induce Mankind to think him but a mere Man; and so prevent their seeing into the sublime Nature and Glory of the Christian Dispensation. In his infinite Wisdom, therefore, he appointed him such Works to do, previous to his Incarnation, as might effectually determine his true Character.—At first, his Disci­ples themselves hardly believed him to be supreme God, or that he was to die, to make Atonement for the Sins of the World: for their Eyes were not yet opened to understand the Scriptures of the Old-Testa­ment, in which, both these Points were set in the strongest Light. The very Night before He suffered, it is plain, his Disciples had but a feeble Sense of his [Page 19] supreme God-Head. He had before said, that ‘he and his Father were one:’ ( Joh. X. 30.) but they did not fully understand him. He now says, ‘If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also; and from henceforth ye know him and have seen him.’ ( Joh. XIV. 7.) But they hardly knew what he meant. Therefore Philip, being one of them, says, ‘Lord, shew us the FA­THER, and it sufficeth us. (ver. 8.) Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me, hath seen the Father: and how sayest thou, shew us the Father? (ver. 10.) Believest thou not, that I am in the Father, and the Father in me.’ But when afterwards their Eyes were opened to understand the Scriptures of the Old­Testament, and in all those sacred Pages to behold him in the Form of God, speaking and acting as supreme Deity, now their Faith was fully confirmed. Indeed in the Days of his Abasement, while his Divinity was so much concealed, his divine Glory at Times shone into their Hearts, and they ‘beheld his Glory, [for Instance on the Mount, Mat. XVII.] as the Glory of the only begotten Son of God.’ ( Joh. 1. 14.) And sometimes under a divine Influ­ence they cried out, ‘Thou art the Son of the living God.’ ( Mat. XVI. 16.) But in general their Sense of his Divinity was but feeble; so that after his Death they even doubted his being the true Messiah. ( Mar. XVI. 14.) They knew not what to make of Things. ( Luk. XXIV.) But after the Days of Pentecost, when the holy Spirit, who inspired the Writings of the Old-Testament, was so plentifully poured out upon them, they never appear to doubt again; but as in their Writings, so no doubt in their Preachings, they take the utmost Liberty to apply Passages in the Old-Testament, evidently [Page 20] spoken of the supreme God, the Creator of the Universe, the King of Israel, to Jesus Christ; and without Scruple call him, ‘Immanuel, God, the true God, God manifest in the Flesh, yea, God over all blessed for ever.’ ^†

IT is written in Isai. IX. 6. His Name shall be called WONDERFUL. And indeed, of all Things that ever happened in the whole intelligent System, this is the most astonishing, that the ETERNAL GOD who created the Universe should become incarnate and die on the Cross. That the Babe in the Man­ger was ‘the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Creator of the Ends of the Earth!’—He looked like another Child; He grew in Stature like another Child; and when grown, he appeared in Fashion as a Man: his ancient Glory all laid aside: to Appearance, a Man of Sorrow, despised, condem­ned, hated, ridiculed, the laughing-stock of many in Town and Country, and those the most rich and honourable: at last, crucified as a Malefactor. And was this the ETERNAL JEHOVAH!—THE GOD OF THE WHOLE UNIVERSE!—this mean Man!—this crucified Criminal!—Well might his Name be called WONDERFUL.—O the manifold Wisdom of God, [Page 21] in appointing his SON, previous to his Incarnation, to appear in the Form of God, and speak and act as thinking it no Robbery to be SUPREME GOD, thro' a Period of three or four Thousand Years, as preparatory and introductory to this astonishing A­basement; that there might be sufficient external Evidence, with Certainty, to determine his true Character, when appearing in Circumstances so infinitely below his real Dignity!—But it is Time to proceed, as was proposed,

II. To take a View of our blessed Saviour ‘in the Form of a Servant, in the Likeness of Men.’

As MAN, He had an human Body, which, from the Smallness of an Infant, grew up into the Stature of a Man.—And an human Soul, in all Respects like ours, Sin only excepted. ( Heb. II. 16, 17.)—As Man, God was his Father; even as he is the Father of the whole Creation in general, and as he is the Father of all good Men in particular: and in a still more eminent Sense. And God was his God. As he said, ‘I ascend to my Father, and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ( Joh. XX. 17.) As Man, he was dependent on God, and prayed to him, and praised him. As Man, he had no Ability to work Miracles: but, the Father, saith he, ‘that dwelleth in me, he doth the Works.’ ( Joh. XX. 10.)—As Man, he loved the young Man in the Gospel for his humane Disposition and respectful Behaviour:—He groaned at his Friend Lazaru [...]'s Grave—He wept over Jerusalem—and was in an Agony and prayed in the Garden—and cried on the Cross, ‘My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me!’—

As Man, He grew in Knowledge and Wisdom, and in Favour with God and Man ( Luk. II. 52.) and yet was at an infinite Remove from absolute Om­niscience: yea, he did not so much as know when the [Page 22] Day of Judgment would be. ( Mar. XIII. 22.) The DEITY, who was the FATHER ^* of the Man Christ [Page 23] Jesus, how intimately soever united to him, had never imparted to him the Knowledge of this Thing. The Union was such, as that he might justly be named IMMANU [...]L ( Mat. I. 23.) yet tho' Natures remained distinct. And the human Nature was not conscious to the Ideas of the divine, only as they were imparted. This was the Case when he dwelt on Earth, notwithstanding his personal Union to the second Person in the Trinity; and it is still the Case now he is in Heaven, notwithstand­ing his Exaltation and Glory; He knows not the Secrets of the Divinity any farther then they are communicated to him. Therefore we have that Expression in Rev. I. 1. ‘The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him.’ And doubtless, it is simply impossible, that any Creature should be conscious to the Ideas of the DIVINITY, as a Man is conscious to the Thoughts of his own Heart, by immediate Intuition.—But he was not only a Man, but also took on him—

THE Form of a Servant.—And as such, He re­ceived all his Power and Authority from his Father, as he constantly declares, and all his Instructions. For he came not of himself, nor to do his own Will, nor to seek his own Glory; but his Father sent him; and he spake and acted altogether as his Servant. And as such, "his Father was greater than he." [Page 24] Mat. XXVIII. 18. Joh. VII. 16, 17, 18. & XII. 49, 50. and XIV. 28. ^†

AND a principal Command he had received of his Father, was to "lay down his Life for his Sheep." ( Joh. X. 15—18.) And such was his Regard to his Father's Honour, and to the Salvation of Sinners, that he was obedient, even to the Death of the Cross. Wherefore his Father loved him, and in Testimony of his Love, highly exalted him, and, as Mediator, set him at the Head of the Universe, and made him Heir of all Things, (for, as God, he was, by an underived Right, Lord of all Things before, Isai. VI. 1.) and gave him a Name above every Name, that to the Name of Jesus every Knee should bow, and [Page 25] every Tongue confess, that Jesus is Lord, to the Glory of God the Father:—Nothing being more to the Glory of God the Father, than so highly to exalt a Servant, who had shewn so great Regard to his Honour, and to the Honour of his Law and Go­vernment and sacred Authority;—And nothing being more to the Glory of God the Father, than that the whole Universe should bow to the Name of his great Vice-gerent, exalted to sit at his own right Hand, as a Reward of his Fidelity to his Father, while acting in the Form of a Servant. ^‖

AMONG all the Servants of God, none ever did so much to the Glory of God, nor ever shewed such a Love to Righteousness and Hatred of Iniquity, as he, and none ever received so great a Reward. He was "anointed with Oil of Gladness above his Fellows" ( Heb. I. 9.) Above all his Fellow-servants, whether Angels or Men, and however faithful to him that appointed them: none ever were, or ever will be exalted to so great Glory.

FOR He sits at the Head of the Universe, even at ‘the Father's right Hand, far above all Principality, and Power, and Might, and Dominion.’ ( Eph. I. 20, 21.) And here, as his Father's Vice-gerent, God­Man-Mediator-King, [Page 26] He is to reign till all his Ene­mies are put under his Feet, till the final Judgment is over, and all the Affairs of an apostate World are settled. And then he will, in Testimony that he has acted all as his Father's Servant, resign this de­legated Authority. And God shall be all in all.—As his Father's Servant, He received this Authority, to destroy the Works of the Devil, to bring Good out of all the Evil Sin had introduced, and put an End to all the Disorder and Confusion in the intel­lectual System, consequent on the Apostasy of An­gels and Men: and having finished his Work, he resigns the Kingdom to the Father, the first Person in the ever-blessed Trinity, to whom, as such, the Government of the World properly belongs, and He shall take the Kingdom, and reign over the Universe for ever and ever. And Jesus Christ him­self, as Mediator, shall be subject to him, as is sui­table, that the God head only may be exalted, and as it really is, so it may appear to be, all in all.—For while the Father reigns, the whole God-head reigns in him. So that, while the SON, as Mediator, resigns the Kingdom to him; yet, as GOD, He reigns in Him, and forever will. But his mediato­rial Government he resigns, (even that delegated Au­thority, whereby, as his Father's Servant, he had ruled the Universe, in the Capacity of God-Man-Mediator­King;) having finished the Work which he was impowered and authorized to do. ^*

[Page 27]As God-Man-Mediator, in two distinct Natures, yet but one Person, He was his Father's Servant.—As such, he became obedient unto the Death: There­fore the Church is said to be redeemed with the Blood of God. ( Act XX. 28.) And God is said to have laid down his Life for us. 1 Joh. III. 16.—And, as such, he ascended to Heaven and led Captivity cap­tive; and therefore St. Paul applies what is spoken of God in Psal. LXVIII. 18. to Him, in Eph. IV. 8.—And, as such, He was exalted to the highest Glory in Heaven, and every Knee ordered to bow to him; and so what is spoken of God in Isai. XLV. 23. is applied to him, in Phil. II. 10.—For He was GOD as well as MAN, God-Man, one Person; and as God's Servant, in the great Work of Redemption, he was obedient unto Death, and as God's Servant was rewarded with this high Exaltation—

THUS stands the Character of Jesus Christ in the sacred Writings of the Old and New-Testaments: all which cannot be better summed up than in the [Page 28] Words of the Apostle, who seems to have had all these Things in his View.— ‘Who being in the Form of God, thought it not Robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no Reputation, and took upon him the Form of a Servant, and was made in the Likeness of Men: and being found in Fashion as a Man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto Death, even the Death of the Cross. Wherefore God hath also highly ex­alted him, and given him a Name which is above every Name: that at the Name of Jesus every Knee should bow, of Things in Heaven, & Things in Earth, and Things under the Earth; and that every Tongue should confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the Glory of God the Father;’ in whose Name he administers his mediatorial Kingdom, and to whose Honour he professedly refers it.

AND thus we have, as was proposed, taken a View a Jesus Christ; first, as being in the Form of God, and speaking and acting as thinking it no Robbery to be equal with God; and then, as having taken upon him the Form of a Servant, appearing in the Likeness of Men. And have seen the Method infinite Wis­dom took to ascertain his true Character, that the Greatness of his Abasement might not mislead trail Mortals, nor raise one suspicious Thought of the infinite Dignity of his Person, as our GREAT IMMANUEL.—And now therefore,

1. WHAT an infinite Condescension was it in the eternal God, the Creator of the Universe, who had appeared in the Form of God, and spake and acted as thinking it no Robbery to be equal with God, thro' a long Period of three or four Thousand Years, to lay aside all his Glory, and from being worshipped as supreme God, to become of no Repu­tation, and even take upon him the Form of a Ser­vant and the Likeness of Men! Well might St. [Page 29] Paul urge this Example, as a powerful Inducement, on all the Disciples of Christ, to be full of Love and Condescension towards one another. Phil. II. 1—5. ^*

But,

2. How ingrateful, yea how impious would it be in us, to take Occasion from his appearing in the Form of a Servant, and in the Likeness of Men, which was for our Sakes, to take Occasion (I say) from this, to call his DIVINITY into Question.—Especially, now since we are so plainly informed, by the Holy Ghost, who inspired the Writers of the New-Testa­ment, that he is the very same God who in the Be­ginning created the Heavens and the Earth, and appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to Moses and Isaiah, and who was believed to be the supreme God, and worshipped as such by all the Patriarchs and Prophets:—Only because he has laid aside his God­like Form, and taken the Form of a Servant; and instead of speaking like a GOD from Mount Sinai, appears and speaks like a Man;—That we should immediately doubt his Divinity, and look upon him as a mere Man, when yet all this Abasement was for our Sakes!—How must HE look upon it!—How must HE resent it!

[Page 30]JUST thus did the wicked Jews (yet we are more to blame than they; because we have more Light, and better Advantages to form a right Judgment of his true Character) I say, just thus did the wicked Jews, when they charged Him with Blasphemy, for saying, "I and my Father are one." "Thou" (say they) "being a Man, makest thy self God." Here was his Crime, and here was their Proof. (Joh. X. 33.)—He had, upon a like Occasion, some time ago, re­ferred them to the Scriptures of the Old-Testament in general, to decide his true Character; (Joh. V. 18, 39.) but to little Purpose.—He now therefore only refers them to a particular Passage in the LXXXIId Psalm, the 6th Verse, saying, ‘Is it not written in your Law, I said, Ye are Gods? And if he called them Gods,’ &c. i. e. ‘If the Types, which were Shadows, were called Gods; the Antitype, which is the Substance, must be real God. If they had the Name, He must have the Thing. For the Scripture cannot, in any Particular, be broken. Not only all the Prophecies, but also all the Types of the Messiah must be verified in him. You have no Reason therefore to charge the Messiah with Blasphemy, for claiming to be the Son of God. ^* [Page 31] And indeed notwithstanding the Meanness of my Appearance in your Eyes, while you behold me [Page 32] in the Likeness of Men, yet my Works, which you also see, evidence my Divinity. If you cannot [Page 33] give Credit to my Words, yet surely you may to the Works wrought by me; which evidently are not the Works of a mere Man. And they are a sufficient Proof that the Father is in me, and I in him, i. e. that I and my Father are one.’ ( Joh. X. 34—38.) So spake the incarnate God, who of old dwelt in their Tabernacle, from whence the Word of God used to come forth to their chief Rulers, when they came to enquire of the Lord. Then He was their GOD, and KING, and ORACLE. Now all his Glory is laid [...]. He is of no Reputation. Nor can any Thing he says, nor all the mighty Works he had wrought, as swage their Anger, or keep their Hands from Violence. He is obliged to leave the Temple, [Page 34] where he was, and be gone.—However, the Mat­ter did not end here. For when they arraigned Him before the High-Priest, they renew the Charge of Blasphemy, and pronounce him worthy of Death. ( Mat. XXVI. 63—66.) Nor did Pilate know how to express the Crime, for which he was put to Death, better than in this Title put on the Cross, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS. So that his claiming to be the SON OF GOD and KING OF THE JEWS, cost him his LIFE.

AND shall we crucify Him afresh, and put him to open Shame, and justify all the Conduct of the Jews towards him, by saying, He was indeed but a Man!—For if so, it was Blasphemy indeed to pre­tend to be supreme God. And we know, the Blas­phemer deserved to die, according to the Law of Moses.

AND what is there to tempt us to this impious and ingrateful Deed? Not any Thing our blessed Saviour ever said, or ever did: for he always spake and acted in Character.—As GOD, when in the Form of God—As MAN, when in the Likeness of Men—As a Servant, when in the Form of a Servant—As our exalted Mediator, now at the right Hand of the Fa­ther; from whom, He, as Mediator, has received all his Power: and to whom, when he has finished his Work, he will, as Mediator, resign his delegated Authority. Nor can any Thing he ever said, or any Thing he ever did, fairly construed, once tempt us to doubt his being by Nature supreme God, after such clear Evidences of his Divinity have been given us. Nor can I think what should induce us to doubt his Divinity,—unless we secretly imagine, there was no Need, that the Creator of the Universe should become incarnate and die on the Cross for us: We were not so bad, nor was Sin so great an Evil, as to make such an Atonement need­ful. [Page 35] —And if this be at the Bottom, let us honest­ly say so, that the World may know the true Ground of our Infidelity, and see it all summed up in a few Words, ‘The whole need not a Physician, but they that are sick.’

THIS was the very Case with the unbelieving Jews, and the chief Reason of their rejecting Christianity. They had an high Opinion of their own Goodness; nor could they conceive why they might not be accepted with God on the Foot of their own Righ­teousness. And therefore the Gospel-Way of Salva­tion, thro' the Mediation and Death of the Son of God, appeared needless in their View, and was therefore absolutely incredible in their Sight. This they stumbled at, as the great stumbling-Stone, as St. Paul tells us, who was intimately acquainted with the whole Affair. ( Rom. IX. 30—33.) It did bear too hard upon their moral Character, as it supposed them so infinitely odious and Hell-deserving in the Sight of God, that nothing short of the Interposition of his own Son, as an Expiatory Sacrifice, could open a Door for him, in Justice and Honour, to pardon and save them—But how exceeding-un­reasonable was this their Conduct, as their own Law so painly held forth the infinite Evil of Sin, in threatning eternal Damnation for the least Trans­gression? ( Gal. III. 10.) Which might easily have led them to a Sense of their Need of an Atone­ment, of infinite Value, had their Hearts honestly lain open to Conviction.

AND is it not worthy our Observation, that those among professed Christians, who have denied the Divinity of Christ, have been wont generally also to deny—our natural Depravity—he infinite Evil of Sin—the Eternity of Hell-Torments—the Necessity of any proper Satisfaction for Sin—the Doctrine of Justification by Faith alone?—And perhaps, to he a [Page 36] little more consistent with themselves, they ought to deny the Inspiration of the Old and New-Testa­ments, in which the Divinity of Christ, and these other Doctrines, are set in so strong a Light.—And indeed Deism has been for some Time growing to be the most fashionable Scheme among the po­lite and genteel Part of the Nation.—And loose Principles and loose Practices are preparing us apace for all those heavy Judgments, which seem to be coming on our Nation and Land. ^‡ ( Judg. II. 11—15. Jer. XVIII. 9, 10.)

3. IF Jesus Christ be in very Deed the God that created the Universe, we may be assured, He is in every Respect fit and sufficient for the whole Work he undertook; nor will he, nor can he, fail to ac­complish the whole Design he had in view. He was originally unobliged to do a Creature's Duty, [...]ing by Nature God; and so at Liberty to under­take, and had where-with-all to pay our Debt, infi­nite as it was: whereas, the whole Creation had not a Farthing to spare for us, owing all they had done, or could do, to God, on their own Account.—It was ho­nourable to God, to appoint such a Surety for us; he was one, God might honorably trust and deal with, as he was equal with God, and FELLOW to the Lord of Hosts. ( Zech. XIII. 7.)—He was worthy the Regard of the infinite Majesty, able to secure the Honour of his Law, establish his Authority, and answer all the Ends of Government. He was fit to be admitted, as Me­diator, into his Presence-Chamber; to be exalted [Page 37] to sit at his right Hand,—a very unmeet Place for a mere Creature; and to be worshipped by all the heavenly Hosts, in his Father's Presence; the very Thought of which, I am perswaded, no mere Crea­ture in that World could possibly endure, but ra­ther with the Angel in Rev. XXII. 9. would say, See thou do it not; for I am but a mere Creature; worship God. ( Luk. IV. 18.)—And fit to sit at the Head of the Universe, to be made Head over all Things, to go­vern the World and the Church; a Place too high for a mere Creature, a Trust too great to be reposed in one by Nature mutable, fallible, short-sighted; and meet only for Immutability, Infallibility, and Om­niscience.—And fit finally to judge the World, and as the great Arbitrator between God and his rebellious Creatures, to see Right done, and cause Justice to take Place: an Honour too great for a mere Creature, and a Work too difficult for any but the Omniscient, who "only knows the Hearts of all the Children of Men."—But IMMANUEL is fit for all this, worthy the Honour, and qualified for the Work; and may be thus employed, thus ex­alted, thus worshipped,—not inconsistent with, but to the Glory of God the Father.—Nor can we doubt but that he is able to save to the uttermost all that come to God by him, nor fear but that he will ac­complish all his Designs of Grace. ‘How beau­tiful upon the Mountains are the Feet of him that bringeth good Tidings, &c. that saith unto Zion, THY GOD REIGNETH!’ Isai. LII. 7. ap­plied to Christ. Rom. X. 15.

4. BUT if indeed He was the GOD that created the Universe; Oh, how awful and solemn the Tho't! If indeed He was the GOD that created the Universe, who hung incarnate on the Cross, ‘set forth to be a Propitiation for Sin, that God might be just!’ What shall we say! What shall we think!

[Page 38]LET us look up, and behold him—surrounded by Thousands of Spectators, insulting—"If he be the KING OF ISRAEL" [indeed he was, but they knew it not; for had they known it, they would not have crucified the LORD OF GLORY] If he ‘be the KING OF ISRAEL, they say, let him come down from the Cross, and we will believe Him.’—They insult;—He prays, "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do." And with all his Divinity concealed, as one forsaken of Heaven, and cast out from the Earth, there he hangs, and bleeds, and dies!

FOR as our Rebellion, with all its Circumstances, had been public, as it were in the Presence of the whole intelligent System; [...]o now the Satisfaction must be as publickly made.—Satan, God's Ene­my, and our inveterate Foe, had seduced our first Parents, and in them virtually the whole human Race, to transgress the divine Law, and cast off the di­vine Authority, and join with him.—And here on Earth Satan had set up his Kingdom, in the Sight of Heaven, and in Defiance of the MOST HIGH.—And exulting in all his Mischief, he was ready im­piously to say, ‘In Spite of God, and his Son, the Day is my own. For if God pardons an apo­state World, doomed to Death, then will it appear, that he has no Regard to his Law, or to his Threatning, or to impartial Justice; which, when I was driven out of Heaven, he pretended, was the Motive. Nor can it fail to be Matter of eternal Triumph to us, to see the Honour of his Law and Government and Authority given up, to save his Creature, Man.—Or if he re­signs the whole human Race to Destruction, as he certainly will, if he deals by them as he did by us, it will be Matter of eternal Consolation and Joy, to see, we can ruin Worlds, as fast as [Page 39] he can make them. That, let him take what Course he will, we are sure of an eternal Tri­umph.’—So stood the Case.—And all the Inhabitants of Heaven looked on, no doubt, to see the Event.

"THE Honour of the divine Government," said the ETERNAL SON, ^* ‘must and shall be secured. [Page 40] The Law is holy, just and good; and must and shall be magnified and made honourable. Sin is as great an Evil as my Father's Law speaks it; and must and shall be considered and treated as such; and that in the Sight of the whole System. For my Father's Authority must and shall be publickly maintained.—And yet Satan may be disappointed of his expected Triumph: For the human Race need not be resigned to Ruin: for lo, I am willing to become incarnate, and die in their Room.—Behold, here I am! Psal. XL. 7.’

‘THOU art my beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased; thou lovest Righteousness and hatest Iniquity, and art MY EXPRESS IMAGE;’ said the eternal Father; ‘and even as thou hast said, so shall it be. The Seed of the Woman shall bruise the Serpent's Head. Gen. III. 15. Thy dying Love shall defeat the Designs of his infernal Malice.’

WHEREFORE see him now on the Cross, ‘set forth to be a Propitiation for Sin, to declare the Righteousness of God, that God might be just, and yet justify the Sinner that believes in Jesus.’ Rom. III. 25, 26. And there he spoils Principalities and Powers, saps the Foundation of Satan's King­dom, and even triumphs over him on the Cross. Col. II. 15. And all in Sight, as it were, of the whole in­telligent Creation. 1 Pet. I. 12. And suited to give universal Instruction. Eph. III. 10.

[Page 41]Look up, and stand astonished at this greatest of all God's Works. The CREATOR of the Universe on the Cross! dying as a propitiatory Sacrifice for Sin! offering up Himself to his Father, as a Sacri­fice of Atonement for the Sins of the World!—That by Faith in his Blood we might be justified and saved.

AND was there indeed such infinite Goodness in the divine Nature, that God could find it in his Heart to do this Thing! a Thing, of a Nature superior, infinitely superior to the Creation of Thousands and Millions of such Worlds as this! And was Sin indeed such an infinite Evil, that nothing could expiate it, but such a Sacrifice as this! Sin, which we, stupid Mortals, see so little Evil in! And did the eternal Father value the Honour of his Law and Government more than the Life of his Son! And if these Things were done in the green Tree, what will be done in the dry! Where will the unrighteous and ungodly ap­pear, when this Jesus comes in flaming Fire to take Vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not the Gospel! How vain will it be to cry for Mercy! how vain to hope that impartial Justice will relent! The Son of God prayed, ‘O my Father, if it be possible, let this Cup pass from me;’ and even agonized in Blood!—But it was not possible: Justice must be satisfied: the Son of God himself must die: therefore impenitent, Christ­less Sinners cannot escape: nor can they ever be released: But "the Smoke of their Torment will ascend for ever and ever."

THAT God is in Earnest, when he threatens to punish impenitent Sinners with eternal Damnation, cannot be made more evident, than it is by the Cross of Christ. However, it may be more attended to, and so work a more universal Coviction. Yet their eternal Damnation, it self, will not be a greater [Page 42] Proof, that God was in earnest, than the Death of his Son on the Cross.—The whole intelligent System have here the strongest Evidence of the impartial Rectitude of the divine Nature, and of the Inflexi­bility of the divine Justice, that can possibly be given. And at the same Time, the boundless Good­ness of the divine Nature set in the clearest Point of Light.—Wherefore, to conclude, let us here behold the "Glory of God in the Face of Jesus Christ;" that beholding ‘in this Glass, the Glory of the Lord, we may be changed into the same Image, from Glory to Glory. That so the Gos­pel may become the Power of God to our Salva­tion. That while Christ crucified is to some a stumbling-Block, and to others Foolishness, He may be to us the Power of God, and the Wisdom of God.’

Now to him ‘who loved us and gave himself for us, be Glory, Honour and Praise for ever and ever.’ Amen.—Even

To HIM, who is ‘the Alpha and the Omega, the Almighty, the same Yesterday, to Day, and forever, who is God, the true God, the mighty God, the holy one of Israel, sitting on a Throne high and lifted up, God over all blessed for ever, by whom and for whom all Things were created’—even to HIM let "every Knee bow in Heaven and on Earth:"—and it will be so far from derogating or detracting from the Honour, that it will be "to the Glory of God the Father." For, "he and his Father are ONE."—Yea, ‘there are Three that bear Record in Heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are ONE.’ And to this ONE GOD in three Persons, to whom we were dedicated in Baptism, and from whom all Blessings flow to us, even to HIM, be ascribed "the Kingdom, Power, and Glory for ever." Amen.

IN a great Variety of Respects, the BIBLE is the most remarkable Book in the World. In it we have God's mo­ral Character clearly exhibited to View, by a History of his Conduct, as moral Governor of the World from the beginning: and the Nature of fallen Man painted to the Life, by a History of their Behaviour for four Thousand Years. In it we have opened the glorious and astonishing Method, that has been entered upon, to disappoint all Satan's Designs, by the Interposition of the Son of God; and are informed of his Birth, Life, Death, Resurrection, Ascension and Exaltation, and of the glorious Designs he has in View. And the whole is so contrived as to be admirably suited to all the Circumstances and Needs of a good Man; That, [Page 44] as it was designed to be the good Man's Book, in a peculiar Sense, so it is perfectly suited to his Case. ‘It is profitable for Doctrine, for Reproof, for Cor­rection, for Instruction in Righteousness, that the Man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnish­ed to all good Works.’ (2 Tim. III. 16, 17.)

THAT sincere Concern for the Cause of Truth and Virtue, for the Honour of God and Interest of true Religion, which is peculiar to a good Man, whose Character it is to love Christ above Father and Mother, Wife and Children, Houses and Lands, yea, better than his own Life, must naturally sub­ject him to a peculiar Kind of Solicitude. Even as a Child, of a truly filial Spirit, is pained when it goes ill with his Father's Family, to whose Interest he is closely attached; and has a whole System of inward Sensations, that a Stranger intermeddles not with.—The BIBLE, the good Man's Book, is, therefore, wisely adapted to case the good Man's pained Heart, and afford Consolation in this interesting and most important Point; as it gives the strongest Assuran­ces that the Cause of Vertue shall finally prevail.

How insupportable must the Grief of the pious Jews have been, sitting on the Sides of the Rivers of Babylon! "There we sat down," say they, "yea, we wept when we remembred Zion." And "on the Willows they hung their Harps," nor could any Thing divert their Minds. ‘If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right Hand forget her Cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my Tongue cleave to the Roof of my Mouth.’ ( Psal. CXXXVII.)—How insupportable, I say, must their Grief have been, while their glorious holy Temple, and their holy City, the Place of all their sacred Solemnities, were lying desolate, and God's People in Captivity, had it not been for that Promise, so often repeated, that after seventy Years God would visit them, and [Page 45] cause them to return to their own Land. God knew before-hand the Anguish, which would be apt to [...] their Hearts, the sinking Discouragements, and all the Train of dark and gloomy Thoughts, they would be incident to; and before-hand provided a Remedy. Yea, no sooner had he denounced their Doom in the XXXIXth Chapter of Isaiah, but im­mediately in the next Chapter, and for ten or twenty Chapters together, does he provide for their Support. ‘Comfort ye, comfort ye, my People; speak com­fortably to Jerusalem, &c. &c.’

So, how insupportable would have been the Grief of the Church of Christ, thro' the long, dark, cruel Reign of mystical Babylon, while they beheld Error and Wickedness universally prevail, Satan getting his Will in almost every Thing, and to Ap­pearance no Signs of better Times, but all Things wearing a dreadful Aspect before their Eyes; how great their Grief; how sinking their Discourage­ments, how almost insuperable their Temptations to apostatize, and forsake a Cause that Heaven seemed to forsake, had not the Day of Deliverance been ex­presly foretold, and the Glory that should follow opened to View, by the Spirit of Prophecy! But in a firm Belief that the Cause they were engaged in, and for which they spilt their Blood, would finally prevail; and prevail in this World, where they then beheld Satan reigning and triumphing, I say, in a firm Belief of this, the whole Army of Martyrs could march on to Battle couragiously, willing to sacrifice their Lives in the Cause, not doubting of final Victory, altho' they themselves must fall in the Field.

INDEED, were the Salvation of his own Soul the only Thing the good Man had in View, he would naturally be quite easy upon a full Assurance that this was secured. So, had Moses cared for nothing [Page 46] but the Welfare of himself and of his Posterity, he might have been satisfied, while the whole Congre­gation of Israel were destroyed, if he might become a great Nation, and that without any Sollicitude for the Honour of the GREAT NAME of the GOD of Israel: Yea, altho' the Idolatrous Nations round about were fully established in the Belief of the Divinity of their Idols, and brought to look upon the GOD of the Hebrews with ever so great Con­tempt by the Means. But, attached as he was to the Honour of the God of Israel, nothing could give him Satisfaction, but a Prospect that that would be secured. The Welfare of himself and of his Family was of no Importance in his Esteem, com­pared with this. (See Exod. XXXII.)

IT must, therefore, be remembred, that, as the SON of God left his Father's Bosom, and the Realms of Light and Glory, and expired on the Cross in the utmost visible Contempt, that he might spoil Principalities and Powers, bruise the Serpent's Head, destroy the Works of the Devil; so his true Disci­ples have imbibed a Measure of the same Spirit; and, as Voluntiers enlisted under his Banner, have the same Thing in View: they long for the Destruc­tion of Satan's Kingdom: and these Petitions are the genuine Language of their Hearts, ‘Our Father which art in Heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy Kingdom come, thy Will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.’ Nor can the Salvation of their own Souls, altho' ever so safely secured, satisfy their Minds, without a clear View and fair Prospect of Christ's final Victory over all his Ene­mies. ‘But if our great GENERAL, who has sacrificed his Life in the Cause, may but at last obtain a compleat Victory, notwithstanding all the present dark Appearances; This is enough,’ says the Christian Soldier: ‘I am willing to risque [Page 47] all in his Service, and die in the Battle too. But if Satan were always to carry the Day, Oh who could live under the Thought!’

THIS having been the Temper of good Men, more or less, even from the early Ages of the World, and thro' all successive Generations to this Day, they have evidently wanted a peculiar Support, which the Rest of Mankind stood in no Need of, to carry them comfortably thro' such a long Scene of Darkness; Wickedness prevailing, God dishonoured, Satan triumphing, the World perishing, the true Church of God more generally in Sackcloth. And accordingly the final Victory of the Cause of Truth and Virtue was intimated in the very-first Promise made to fallen Man. And from Time to Time God repeated this comfortable Prediction to his Church and People; and finally made it the chief Subject of the last Book of holy Scripture, he ordered to be wrote for the Use of his Church.

Now let us take a brief View of the whole Series of these divine Predictions, from the Beginning of the World, even down to this in our Text, contain­ed in one of the last Chapters in the Bible; that we may see what full Evidence there is of this Truth; and so, what abundant Cause for Consolation to all the People of God.

I. IMMEDIATELY after the Fall, when the Ser­pent, even that old Serpent the Devil, had just seduced Mankind to revolt from God, and had, to all Appearance, laid this whole World in perpetual Ruin, even in the Depths of this Midnight-Dark­ness, a Ray of Light shone down from Heaven— The Seed of the Woman shall bruise the Serpent's Head. ( Gen. III. 15.) As if God had said, ‘I see the Scheme that Satan has laid to ruin the World, and establish his impious, malicious Cause: I see it, and I am determined to defeat it. The feebler [Page 48] Woman he has over-matched, but her almighty Seed shall conquer him, and as effectually subdue him, and prevent all future Mischief by him, as a Serpent is subdued and incapacitated for further Mischief, when his Head is crushed to Pie­ces, under the indignant Heel of one determined on his Death.’ This was a compleat Doom in­deed denounced against Satan, at the Head of the Kingdom of Darkness. And it fully implied, that the Cause of Light, Truth and Righteousness should finally obtain a compleat Victory.

II. AFTER this gracious and glorious Promise had been the chief Foundation of all the Hopes of God's People for two Thousand Years, God was pleased to point out the particular Family from whence this mighty Deliverer should spring, and to intimate what a universal Blessing he should be to all the Nations of the Earth. And in thy SEED shall ALL the Families of the Earth be blessed, said God to Abraham. ( Gen. XII. 3.) Which again plainly supposed, that the Cause of Truth and Righteousness, notwith­standing the dark State the World then was in, all sinking last into Idolatry, and would for many Ages be in, buried in heathenish Darkness, should yet in due Time universally prevail over the whole Earth. For in thy Seed shall ALL the Families of the Earth be blessed. This same Promise was repeated again and and again to Abraham, and afterwards to Isaac and to Jacob.

III. HITHERTO God had supported his People's Hopes chiefly with Promises, with verbal Predictions; but from the Days of Moses to the Days of Solo­mon King of Israel, to assist his People's Faith, God did, besides repeated Promises of the same Thing, by a great Variety of wonderful Works shadow forth the glorious Day: And at the same Time shew, that he had sufficient Wisdom and Power to accomplish [Page 49] the greatest Designs. That his People might be convinced, that he could easily bring to pass, for the Good of his Church, whatsoever seemed Good in his Sight.

ISRAEL in the Egyptian Bondage were a designed Type of a fallen World under the Dominion and Tyranny of Satan. Nor was Pharoah more loth to let Israel go, than Satan is to have his Subjects de­sert him, and his Kingdom go to Ruin. But not­withstanding all the seeming Impossibilities in the Way of Israel's Deliverance, infinite Wisdom knew how to accomplish the divine Designs. God could even cause a Member of Pharoah's Family to edu­cate one to be an Instrument of this designed Deli­verance. And in due Time, behold, all the Armies of Israel march forth from the Land of Egypt, out of the House of Bondage; and Pharaoh, and his Chariots, and all his Host, lie buried in the Red Sea! So easily can God bring forth his People even out of the Anti-Christian Kingdom, which is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt. And, if he pleases, raise up the Instruments of this glorious Work, even in the Court of Rome.

AND when the Name of the true God was almost forgotten thro' all the Earth, and the Devil wor­shipped in his Room, in Idols of various Names, thro' all the Nations, God knew how to make his Name known, and to cause his Fame to spread abroad, and fill the whole Earth with his Glory, by Wonders wrought in the Land of Ham, by descend­ing on Mount Sinai, by leading the Armies of Israel forty Years in the Wilderness in a Pillar of Cloud by Day, and of Fire by Night, giving them Bread from Heaven and Water out of the flinty Rock, dividing for [...] delivering up one and thirty Ido­latrous Kings to the Sword of Joshua, raising up Judges one after another in a miraculous Manner [Page 50] to deliver his People, until the Days of David and Solo­mon, Types of Christ. Of David, who Messiah-like subdued the Enemies of Israel all around: of Solo­mon, who built the holy Temple and filled Jerusa­lem with Riches and Glory.—He, who hath done all these Things, can easily accomplish all the De­signs of his Heart, preserve his Church, raise up Deliverance, break to Pieces the Kingdoms of the Earth for her Sake, make Truth victorious, and set up the new Jerusalem in all her spiritual Glory, build up his Church as a glorious holy Temple, and set the Son of David upon the Throne; by whose Hands, Satan and all the Powers of Dark­ness shall be subdued, chained, sealed up in the bot­tomless Pit, as much afraid, and as much unable to attempt any Mischief, as the subdued Nations around Israel were in the very Height of David's Power.

BUT when shall the Son of David reign, and the Church have Rest? When shall the Cause of Truth and Righteousness thus prevail? Perhaps the very Time was designed to be shadowed forth in the Law of Moses, in the Institution of their holy Days. The seventh Day, said God, who always had this glorious Season of Rest in View, ‘The seventh Day shall be a Sabbath of Rest, the seventh Month shall be full of holy Days, the seventh Year shall be a Year of Rest:’ So, perhaps, after six Thousand Years are spent in Labour and Sor­row by the Church of God, the seven Thousandth shall be a Season of spiritual Rest and Joy, and holy Sabbath to the Lord.—And as God the Creator was six Days in forming a confused Chaos into a beau­tiful World, and rested the seventh; so God the Re­deemer, after six Thousand Years Labour in the Work of the new Creation, may rest on the seventh.—And then proclaim a general Liberty to an enslaved [Page 51] World, and grant a general Pardon to a guilty Race; as in the Year of Jubilee, among the Jews, every enslaved Jew was set at Liberty, and the Debts of all the indebted were cancelled.

IV. THESE Things, thus shadowed forth in Types, were also expresly declared by the Mouths of the ancient Prophets, from the Days of David and forward to the End of that Dispensation: and the same Things are hinted here and there in the New-Testament, and largely opened to View in the Revelation of St. John. So that both the Old and New Testaments join to raise in us, who live in these Ages, the highest Assurance, that it is God's Design to ‘give to his Son the Heathen for his In­heritance, and the uttermost Parts of the Earth for his Possession. ( Psal. II. 8.) For all Kings shall bow down before him, and all Nations shall serve him. ( Psal. LXXII. 11.) And the Moun­tain of the Lord's House shall be established in the Top of the Mountains, and shall be exalted above the Hills, and all Nations shall flow unto it. ( Isai. II. 2.) They shall beat their Swords into Plow-shares, and their Spears into pruning Hooks, and learn War no more. ( ver. 4.) For the Earth shall be full of the Knowledge of the Lord, as the Waters cover the Sea. ( Isai. XI. 9.) A Nation shall be born in a Day. ( Isai. LXVI. 8.) All thy People shall be righteous. ( Isai. LX. 21.) They shall all know the Lord, from the least to the greatest. ( Jer. XXXI. 24.) And Holiness to the Lord shall be written on every Thing, ( Zech. XIV. 20, 21.) Kings shall become nursing Fa­thers, and Queens nursing Mothers ( Isai. XLIX. 23.) and there shall be nothing to hurt or offend. ( Isai. XI. 9.) The Inhabitant shall not [so much as] say, I am sick. ( Jer. XXXIII. 24.) And this Kingdom shall fill the whole Earth. ( Dan. II. 35.) [Page 52] And all Nations and Languages shall serve him. ( Dan. VII. 14.) And the Kingdom and Do­minion, and the Greatness of the Kingdom under the whole Heaven shall be given to the People of the Saints of the most high God. ( Dan. VII. 27.) and the Jews shall be called in, and the Ful­ness of the Gentiles. ( Rom. XI. 12—32.) For the Gospel shall be preached to every Nation, and Kindred, and Tongue, and People. ( Rev. XIV. 6.) And Satan shall be bound, and Christ shall reign on Earth a Thousand Years.’ ^* And as surely as the Jews were delivered out of the Babylonish Capti­vity, and Babylon 'itself destroyed; even so surely shall all these Things be accomplished in their Time. And mystical Babylon shall ‘sink as a Mill-stone into [Page 53] the Sea, and shall be found no more at all.’ ( Rev. XVIII. 21.)

V. BUT when shall these Things be?—I answer, in the first Place, it is plain, as yet they have not been, these great Things have not been accomplished. They were not accomplished when the Jews were brought out of their babylonish Captivity: for, from thence to the Coming of Christ, they never were in so flourishing a State as they had been be­fore. They were not accomplished in the apostolick Age: For, St. John, when most, if not all, of the other Apostles were dead, spake of these Things (in the Revolution) as yet to come to pass. They were not accomplished in the three first Centuries: for, that was almost one continued Scene of Blood. They were not accomplished in the Days of Con­stantine the Great: for, it is since then that the Man of Sin has been revealed. Nor are they accom­plished to this Day: for, Satan is still walking to and fro thro' the Earth, and going up and down therein; Babylon is not fallen; the Jews are not called; nor is the Fulness of the Gentiles come in; but the greatest Part of the Earth to this Day fit in heathenish Darkness.

WHEN then shall they be acomplished?—Not till ‘the holy City has been troden under Foot forty two Months’—Not till ‘the Witnesses have prophesied a Thousand, two Hundred and Three­score Days, cloathed in Sackcloth.’ ( Rev. XI. 2, 3.)—And not till ‘the Woman has been in the Wil­derness a Time and Times and half a Time.’ ( Rev. XII. 14.) Now a Time and Times and half a Time, i. e. three Years and a half, is equal to forty two Months; which is equal to one Thousand two Hundred and sixty Days; which doubtless means 1260 Years, a Day for a Year: As the Event has proved was the Case in the Prophecy of Daniel, who [Page 54] declared it to be 70 Weeks, from the going forth of the Commandment to build Jerusalem, to the Death of Christ. For it proved to be 490 Years, which is 7 Times 70, a Day for a Year. ( Dan. IX. 24.)

So that there is no Difficulty in determining the Downfall of Antichrist, but what arises from the Uncertainty we are at when to date the Beginning of his Rise and Reign. The Bishops of Rome were some Hundred Years rising gradually from the ho­nest Character of a Scripture-Bishop to the Grand Title of universal Pope, which was obtained, A. D. 606.—And it was a long Time from this, before they got to the Height of their Grandeur, and the Pope was constituted a temporal Prince, which was not till A. D. 756. ^*—And perhaps he may fall as gradually as he rose. And as now he has been falling 240 Years, even ever since the Beginning of the Reformation; so we may rationally expect he will continue to fall, till Babylon sinks as a Millstone into the Sea. And then ‘the Mountains and the Hills shall break forth into singing, and all the Trees of the Field shall clap their Hands.’ ( Isai. LV. 12.) And all the Hosts of Heaven as loud as Thunder, shall say, ‘Hallelujah! For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give Honour to him; for the Marriage of the Lamb is come, and his Wise hath made herself ready.’ ( Rev. XIX. 6, 7.)

AND thus we have taken a brief View of the Scripture Evidence, that the Cause of Truth and Righteousness will finally become gloriously victo­rious.

VI. NOR is there the least Reason to doubt the Accomplishment of these Things. For,—God in all Times past has been faithful to his Word,—and [Page 55] is evidently sufficiently engaged, in this Affair—knows how, and can vastly accomplish it—and it will be much to the Honour of his great Name to do it.

GOD has been faithful to his Promises to his Church from the Beginning of the World. To all human Appearance, it was a very unlikely Thing, that the Hebrews, inslaved in Egypt, under Pha­raoh, a very powerful Monarch, and sunk down into Idolatry, and very low-spirited, should arise, and go forth with all their Flocks and Herds, and march thro' the Wilderness, and conquer the seven Nations of Canaan, and possess their Land, And so it was to all human Appearance equally unlikely, that the Jews in Babylon should ever return to their own Land. But God had promised in both Cases, and God performed. And an Event more surpriz­ing than either of these, yea, the most astonishing that could have happened, has also come to pass, just as God had said. The promised SEED has been born, and the Serpent has bruised his Heel; and me­thinks now not only God's Faithfulness, but even the Nature of the Case itself, should lead us to believe, that the SEED shall bruise his Head.

FOR, after God has appeared to be so infinitely engaged to destroy the Works of the Devil, as to give his only begotten Son, it can surely never once be imagined, that he wants sufficient Resolution to carry him thro' what yet remains to be done.

AND He, who could send Pharaoh's Daughter to take up Moses, when an Infant, out of his Basket of Bulrushes, and educate him in Pharaoh's Court, that he might be skilled in all the Arts of Govern­ment; and when he had spent forty years in this Situation, banish him into the Land of Mid [...]an, that in the solitary Life of Shepherd for another forty [...] [Page 56] for the Work designed him:—And He, who could take David from feeding his Father's Sheep, and, after a Course of Trials, so exceeding necessary to prepare frail Man for high Honours and great Use­fulness, exalt him to the Throne of Israel, so thorough­ly furnished to head their Armies and subdue their Foes, advance their external Grandeur, and put great Honour upon their Religion:—And He, who could take Daniel, one of the Jewish Captives in Babylon, and raise him to such high Honour and great Authority, to be a Father to his People thro' their seventy Years Captivity, and by his Means (perhaps) influence Cyrus so generously to release them, and assist them in their Return: ^*—And fi­nally, He, who could take a Number of poor illiterate Fishermen, and the persecuting Saul, and by them lay the Foundation of the Christian Church, in Spite of the united Opposition of Earth and Hell; and after their Death cause the Christian Church to live thro', yea, at last to triumph over, the ten bloody Persecutions, and even conquer the Roman Empire; [Page 57] and that which is still more wonderful, to subsist to this Day, notwithstanding all the subtle and cruel Methods; which have for so many Hundred Years been taken by Antichrist to extirpate Christianity out of the World:—I say, He who could do these Things, cannot be at at a Loss for Means, or want Power, to effect the glorious Things foretold, which yet remain to be accomplish'd.

AND, what if Mankind are ever so estranged from God? And what if they are ever so averse to a Reconciliation? And what if Satan reigns in the Courts of Princes, in the Councils of the Clergy, as well as in the Cottages of the Poor? And what if even the whole World in a Manner lies in Wick­edness? So that a general Conflagration might ra­ther be expected, as it is so eminently deserved;—are these Things any Bar in the Way?

WHAT if Mankind have abused divine Grace from the Beginning of the World? What if they have murdered his Prophets, his Son, and his Apostles? What if they have resisted and grieved the Holy Spirit, and perverted the Doctrines, and gone counter to the Precepts of his holy Word? Yea, what if it appears that Mankind are really on Satan's Side? And this after all the kind Methods God has taken to reclaim a guilty World? so that even the best Man on Earth, or the kindest Angel in Heaven might be discouraged, totally and finally discouraged, and think it never worth while to take any more Pains with such a perverse Race, but that it were more suitable to the Rules of good Govern­ment to resign them to Destruction? Are any, or all these Things together, a sufficient Bar to the Accomplishment of God's Designs, whose Good­ness is absolutely infinite?

WHAT! After the Son of God has been offered as a Sacrifice of Atonement, to secure the Honour of [Page 58] the divine Government, and open a Way for the honourable Exercise of his Grace! What, after the Messiah has been exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour, to give Repentance and Remission of Sins! And after all Power and Authority in Heaven and Earth is given into his Hands, on Purpose to destroy the Kingdom of Satan, and bring every Nation, Kin­dred and Tongue, to bow the Knee to God! yea, when the infinitely wise Governour of the World has before determined to permit the Wickedness of Mankind to come out and stand in so glaring a Light, and to suffer Satan so long to Practise and prosper; to this very Purpose, that his Power, Wis­dom and Grace might be the more effectually and the more gloriously displayed, in the Accomplish­ment of all his glorious Designs!

INSTEAD of being discouraged, from a View of the past or the present State of the World, as with­out the Light of divine Revelation we should na­turally have been; methinks now, viewing all Things in the Light of holy Scripture, it must be perfectly rational to conclude, that all these Things are only preparatory, as an Introduction to the glorious Day; even, as all the cruel Bondage of Israel in Egypt, and all the haughty Conduct of Pharaoh, were but preparatory, as an Introduction to the glorious Event that God had then in his Eye.—And what un­speakable. Honour will redound to God most High, if after all the vile Conduct of this apostate World, and notwithstanding all their Ill-desert, and after all the subtle Methods Satan has taken to make his Kingdom strong; I say, what unspeakable Honour will redound to God most High, if after all this he should accomplish his glorious Designs?—And when Things have been ripening these five or six Thousand Years, and are now so nearly every Way prepared for God to get himself a great Name [Page 59] in the total Destruction of Satan's Kingdom, can we once imagine that God will let the Opportunity slip? Or rather, ought we not firmly to believe that when every Thing is quite ripe, then, God will arise, make bare his Arm, and fill the whole World with his Glory?

ESPECIALLY, considering, that as Things stand, the Honour of all his glorious Perfections lies at Stake.—For, ever since the ALMIGHTY gave out the Word, that the Seed of the Woman should bruise the Ser­pent's Head, even from that very Day, that old Ser­pent, with all his Subtilty, has employed his whole Power to defeat the divine Designs, maintain his Kingdom in the World, and escape the dreadful Blow.—He stirred up Cain to kill his Brother, and never left till the whole Earth was filled with Vio­lence, which brought on the general Deluge.—And after the Flood he was industrious to divert Mankind from the Knowledge and Worship of the true God, and to establish Idolatry and the Worship of Devil, in all the Kingdoms of the Earth. And since Chris­tianity appeared, he has turned himself into every Shape to defeat the gracious Designs of the Gospel, and has prevailed and reigned above a Thousand Years, at the Head of the grand Antichristian Aposta­cy. And should the Almighty suffer him to go [...] and prosper, and finally prevail, what would become of his own great Name? And how great would be their Triumph in the infernal Regions, to think, that in Spight of God and of his Son, from the Be­ginning to the End of the World, they have held out in a constant War, kept the Field, and at last come off victorious?—Wherefore, as when God repeats the wonderful Works, which he had done for Israel in the Days of old, in the XXth. Chapter of Ezekiel, he constantly says, I wrought for mine own great Name, so here, in this Case will [Page 60] he do it again, and that in the most eminent Man­ner. As it is written, The ZEAL of the Lord of Hosts [...] perform this. Isai. IX. 7.

So that, in a Word, if almighty Power and in­finite Wisdom, at the Head of the Universe, infi­nitely engaged, are a sufficient Match for the Guilty, impotent Powers of Darkness, then we may depend upon it, Satan will meet with an Overthrow, as not­able as did Pharaoh and his Host in the Red-Sea. And as proud Babylon, once the Mistress of King­doms, is now no more; so mystical Babylon shall sink as a Millstone in the Sea, and rise no more for ever. And

VII. WHATEVER Mistakes the Jewish Rabbies might fall into, in their Interpretation of Daniel's 70 Weeks, and in their Attempts to six the precise Time of the Messiah's coming; and whatever mis­taken Notions any of them had about the Nature of his Kingdom, as tho' it was to be of this World, and He to appear in all earthly Grandeur; and altho' his Coming, to some might seem to be so long delayed, that they began to give up all Hopes of it, and to contrive some other Meaning to all the ancient Prophecies, or even to call in Question the Inspiration of the Prophets: yet neither the Mistakes of some, nor the Infidelity of others, at all altered the Case. Days and Months and Years hastened along, and one Revolution among the Kingdoms of the Earth followed upon another, till the Fulness of Time was come, till all Things were ripe; and then, Behold, the MESSIAH was born. Even so it shall be now.

WHATEVER Mistakes Christian Divines may fall into, in their Interpretation of 666, the Number of the Beast, or in their Endeavours to fix the precise Time when the 1260 Years of Antichrist's Reign shall begin and end; or whatever wrong Notions some [Page 61] have had, or may have about the Nature of the Millennium, as tho' Christ was to reign personally on Earth; and if some, mean while, begin to think, that all Things will go on as they have done, and to conclude, that the the Expectation of these glori­ous Days, which has prevailed in the Christian Church from the Beginning, is merely a groundless Fancy: Yet none of these Things will at all alter the Case. Days and Months and Years will hasten along, and one Revolution among the Kingdoms of the Earth follow upon another, until the Fulness of Time is come, till all things are ripe for the Event; and then the Ministers of Christ will accomplish in Reality, what St. John saw in his Visions:— I saw an Angel fly in the Midst of Heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the Earth, and to every Nation and Kindred, and Tongue and People. ( Rev. XIV. 6.) And then shall it come to pass, that the Vail of Ignorance, which hath so long spread over all Nations, shall be destroyed ( Isai XXV. 7.) and Knowledge shall so greatly increase, that it shall be as tho' the Light of the Moon were as the Light of the Sun, and the Light of the Sun seven fold ( Isai. XXX. 26.) until the Knowledge of the Lord cover the Earth, as the Waters do the Sea. ( Isai. XI. 9.) And then there shall be nothing to hurt or offend in all God's holy Mountain. For Babylon shall fall, Satan be bound, and Christ will reign, and Truth and Righteousness universally prevail, a Thousand Years.

JACOB being dead and buried; and Joseph still Governor over all the Land of Egypt, his guilty Brethren began to be afraid, that Joseph, in whose Power they now were, and at whose Mercy they now lay, would requite them Evil, for the in­human, barbarous Deed they had formerly commit­ted, in selling him, for a Slave, notwithstanding all his Cries and Tears, and the Anguish of his Soul. Wherefore having first sent Messengers to him, to­pacify him, and beg his Pardon; they venture at last into his Presence, and fall down before his Face, and resign to his Mercy, saying, ‘Behold we be thy Servants.’ i. e. We have nothing to say for ourselves; we are verily guilty: we are in thy Pow­er; we surrender ourselves to thy Disposal, Upon which, Joseph said unto them, "Fear not" any Harm [Page 72] from me. "For am I in the Place of GOD," the righteous Judge of the World, to whom Vengeance belongs, and with whom you had Need make your Peace! 'Tis true indeed, ye acted a barbarous and cruel Part, "Ye tho't Evil against me: but God," who had the ordering of the whole Affair, ‘meant it for Good, to bring to pass as it is this Day, to save much People alive.’ And while I behold the Wisdom and Goodness of God, so conspicuous in this Dispensation, I have no Disposition to revenge the Injury you did me. Therefore fear not: for in­stead of requlting you the Evil, you are sensible you deserve, for your ill Treatment of me, I will rather, in Imitation of God, who hath been so kind to me in all my Distresses, treat you with all Goodness. ‘I will nourish you and your little Ones. Thus he comforted them, and spake kindly to them.’

AT the same Time Joseph viewed the Conduct of his Brethren, and considered their Temper and De­signs, and the Heinousness of their Crime; he also behold [...] Hand of God, which he as plainly saw in the [...] Affair, permitting and over-ruling his Brethren's Sin, to answer good noble Ends: And [...] indisposed him to any angry Resentments, and framed his Soul only to Gratitude to God, and Love and Kindness to his Brethren. His seeing the Hand of God in it, or to use his own Language, his seeing that "God meant" he should be sold, and that it was "God who sent him thither," together with the happy Experience he had had of the Wis­dom and Goodness of God in the Affair, not only prepared him to forgive his Brethren; but to treat them with all possible Tenderness, and fraternal Goodness. So that he was not only fully satisfied in the Wisdom of God in the Permission of that Sin; but was thereby the better prepared to do his Duty.

[Page 73]DOCTRINE. "A Sight of the Wisdom of God in the Permission of Sin, is very useful to promote Holiness of Heart and Life: It has a great Ten­dency to make us feel right, and behave well."

THUS it was with Joseph, as we have see n. And thus it was with Job, who, while the Sabeans wick­edly robbed him, eyed the Hand of God, and said, "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away, and blessed be the Name of the Lord." ^* And thus it was with David, while Shimei wickedly abused him, going along on the Hill over against him, as he was fleeing out of Jerusalem from the Hands of Absalom his Son, and cursed him as he went, say­ing, "Come out, come out, thou bloody Man."—"Let him Curse" says David, "for the Lord hath bidden him." ^† 'I justly deserve it at the Hands of the Majesty of Heaven, against whom I have grie­vously sinned.—A bloody Man indeed I am!—O Uriah! Uriah!—I shall never forget the Blood of the valiant Uriah!'

BUT it is needless to multiply Instances. For nothing is plainer, than that it must tend to bring us to a right Temper of Mind, in every Circumstance of Life, to view infinite Wisdom, as ordering all Things which concern us, in the wisest and best Manner. Nor could any Tho't be more shocking to a pious Mind, than to conceive the DEITY as unconcerned in human Affairs,—the Devil ruling in the Children of Disobedience without Controul, and all Things jumbling along in this wicked World, without the least Prospect of any good End ever to be answered. But if all Things, good and bad, are under the Government of infinite Wisdom; this affords a sure Prospect of a happy Issue. And under such a wise and perfect Government, we have the greatest Inducement to go on chearfully in the Ways [Page 74] of our Duty; having always an implicit Faith in the supreme Ruler of the Universe.—Wherefore, the Truth of the Doctrine being thus plain and evident, I shall only attempt to shew,

I. WHAT we are to understand by God's per­mitting Sin. And,

II. THE Wisdom of God in the Permission of Sin. And then,

III. CONCLUDE with a practical Improvement.

I. WHAT are we to understand by God's per­mitting Sin?

1. NOT that He loves Sin, or that there is any Thing in the Nature of Sin that he approves of. For it is the abominable Thing, which his Soul hateth. When he viewed the Temper, Conduct and Design of Joseph's Brethren, they each of them appeared perfectly odious in his Eyes. Their Envy and Ma­lice he abhorred: their cruel and barbarous Deed he detested: their Design intimated in that Saying, ‘And then shall we see what will become of his Dreams,’ ^* he perfectly disapproved.

2. MUCH less are we to imagine, that God in permitting Sin deprives the Sinner of the Freedom of his Wills. Joseph's Brethren felt themselves at Liberty; and in the whole Affair acted according to their own Inclinations,—just as they pleased.

3. GOD's permitting Sin consists merely in not hindering of it. He saw, that Joseph's Brethrent, considering their Temper, and how they had their Brother out in the Field, and how that the Ishmae­litish Merchants would soon come by, &c. &c. would certainly sell him, unless he interposed to hinder it. And He could have hindered their felling, as easily as he hindered their murdering [...] But he did not. He let them take their [...]

[Page 75]4. AND yet it is self-evident, God never permits Sin, in the Character of an unconcerned Spectator, as not caring how Affairs go; but as having weighed all Circumstances and Consequences.—Therefore,

5. GOD never permits Sin, but only then, when, on the whole, all Things considered, he judges it best not to hinder it. And therefore,

6. AT whatever Time God forbears to interpose, to hinder the Commission of any Act of Sin, he is not only justifiable in his Conduct, but even com­mendable and praise-worthy; because he has chosen to act in the wisest and best Manner.—But this leads me,

II. To shew the Wisdom of God in the Permission of Sin. And I will in the first Place begin with some Instances that are more plain and easy, and afterwards proceed to what is more intricate and difficult.

1st INSTANCE. And to begin with the Affair of of Joseph—There needs little to be said, to shew the manifold Wisdom of God in it.—For it does not appear, that God could, as Things were circum­stanced, have taken a better Method for the Ad­vancement of Joseph to be Governor over all the Land of Egypt, than this. It was a Method suited to humble Joseph, and wean him from the World, and bring him to an entire Resignation to God, and Dependence upon, and Devotedness to him; and to prepare him for so high a Station, that in it he might conduct with all Fidelity to Pharaoh, and Humility, Goodness and Condescension to all around him; to the Honour of the God of Israel, and to the Reputation of true Religion, in the midst of a People sinking down fast into Idolatry and Wicked­ness. It was a Method suited to give him a little Character in the Eyes of Pharaoh, and in the Eyes of all Egypt; as one dear to the great God, full of [Page 76] Wisdom and Benevolence, and the fittest Man in Egypt to be so highly advanced and so far be trusted. From a poor Prisoner, he rose soon to so high a Character, and was so highly esteemed, as to be­come a FATHER to Pharaoh, and to all Egypt.

NOR does it appear, that, as Things were cir­cumstanced, God could have taken a better Method than this, to provide for the Sustenance of Jacob's Family, of the Egyptians, and of the Nations throughout the Land of Canaan, thro' a Famine of seven Years Continuance. It was a Method suited to dispose Pharaoh, and all Egypt, to receive Jacob's Family kindly, and give them a hearty Welcome; as they were the Kindred of Joseph, their great Benefactor. It was a Method suited to humble Jo­seph's Brethren, and not only to bring them to Re­pentance for their Sin, but to a better Temper in ge­neral. And, as the selling of Joseph had been Matter of severe Trial to Jacob, who verily thought him dead, and expected to go down to the Grave sorrowing; so, in the Issue, the whole was suited abundantly to establish him in the Belief of the Being and Perfections of God, and of his Govern­ment of the World; and to give him an affecting, ravishing Sense of the Holiness, Wisdom, Goodness, Power and Faithfulness of the God of Abraham, his Father; and to confirm him in the Expectation of the Accomplishment of all God's Promises. And, in the mean Time, the Egyptians, and all the Na­tions inhabiting the Land of Canaan, were provided for with Food thro' a long and sore Famine, in a Manner suited to convince them of the Vanity of their Idols, and to bring them to an high Esteem of the God of the Hebrews, to whose kind Interposition their whole Support was owing. And thus God left not himself without Witness, in that dark and be­nighted Age of the World, when all the Nations were [Page 77] sinking fast down into Idolatry. For the whole Af­fair of the selling of Joseph, of the Conduct of his Mistress, of his unshaken Virtue, of his Imprison­ment, of his interpreting the Dreams of his Fellow­prisoners, of his being bro't to Pharaoh's Court and interpreting his Dreams, of his Advancement, and of all his Conduct in that high Station, would naturally be noised abroad, not only through­out all Egypt, but also thro' all the Land of Canaan, from whence they daily came into Egypt for Bread; yea, the News of these Things would be apt to fly far and wide among all the Nations round about, to the Glory of the true God, and to the Honour of the true Religion, and to the Condemnation of an idola­trous World, who had forsaken the Lord Jehovah, and gone after Idols, that could neither see, nor hear, nor help.—All which good Ends, and many more, God had in View. Wherefore,

ALTHOUGH Joseph's Brethren acted a very wick­ed, cruel, God-provoking Part, in selling their Bro­ther, notwithstanding all his Cries and Tears and the Anguish of his Soul, with an envious, malicious and impious Intention to prevent the Accomplish­ment of his divine Dreams, scoffingly saying among themselves, "And then we shall see what will be­come of his Dreams:" Yet, at the same Time, the God of Abraham acted truly like himself, a noble, a God-like Part, in letting them take their Course, with a Design to over-rule it as he did, to accomplish his Dreams; and that in a Way so much to his own Glory, and so much to the general Good.—And how know we, but that, the infinitely wise Governor of the Universe, when he permitted An­gels and Man to fall, and Things in the intelligent System to take such a Course as they have, designed to over-rule the Whole so (according to a Plan he then had in View) as that in the Issue, God [Page 78] should be more exalted, and the System more holy and happy, than if Sin and Misery had never entered?

But to proceed to a

2d. INSTANCE of the Wisdom of God in the Per­mission of Sin. Sometime after Joseph's Death, when the Children of Israel were greatly multiplied, there arose another King in Egypt, who knew not Joseph, nor paid the least Regard to his Memory; who, to enrich himself, attempted to bring the Isra­elites into a perpetual Bondage: and to that End set Task-Masters over them, who made them serve with Rigour. And, observing how exceedingly they multiplied, left they should become too numerous and potent, and get themselves up out of a Land in which they were so abused, Pharaoh ordered the Midwives to kill their Male Children. But the Mid­wives proving unfaithful to his Injunctions, he laid his Commands on all his People in general, to take every Male Child, and cast them into the River. ^† All which was inhuman and barbarous to the last Degree.

As God had provided for the kind Entertainment of the Israelites by the Means of Joseph, whom he sent before them; so he could have provided for the Continuation of their Tranquillity, and restrained Pharaoh from this Tyrannical Conduct: But he chose to bring all these Distresses upon them, to wean them from the Idols and Pleasures of Egypt, to make them mindful of the promised Land, and to prepare them for their approaching Deliverance, and for their Wilderness-Travels. Therefore he wisely let Pharoah take his Course. For the Israelites were so kindly received in Joseph's Day, and so gene­rously provided for, that they began after a While to forget the Land of Canaan, and feel themselves at Home, and fall in Love with the Customs and Idolatries of Egypt: And had it not been that Pha­raoh [Page 79] attempted their Slavery, and treated them with so great Severity, there would have been Danger of their forgetting the God of their Fathers totally, and incorporating at length with the Egyptians. 'So that they greatly needed these Distresses, to make them willing to leave Egypt, and discern the Goodness of God in their Deliverance, and to awaken them and their Posterity in Ages then to come, to a Sense of their great Obligations to God, who brought them out of the Land of Egypt, and out of the House of Bondage.' ^*

BESIDES, at the same Time that God, by the cruel Tyranny of Pharaoh, was preparing the Israelites for their Deliverance, he also over-ruled his Barbarity to give an Occasion of raising them up a Deliverer. For Pharaoh having ordered all the Male Children to be cast into the River, Moses's Mother, after having concealed him three Months, durst keep him no longer, and so left him in an Art of Bulrushes, at the Side of the River, to the Mercy of the cruel Egyptians. Here Pharaoh's Daughter finds him—is touched with Compassion—relieves the poor weeping Infant.—And now Moses is called the "Son of Pharaoh's Daughter," and is educated in Pharaoh's Court, and instructed in all the Learning of Egypt; and finally, compleatly furnished for the glorious Work designed him. For Pharaoh seeking Moses his Life, he was obliged to flee to the Land of Midian; where, in the solitary Life of a Shepherd, he spent 40 Years, until he became the meekest Man on Earth. And being thus endowed with an extraordinary Measure of human Learning and of divine Grace, God sends him to deliver his Peo­ple, who had been groaning under-their sore Bon­dage above an 100 Years. "O the Depth of the Knowledge and Wisdom of God"!

[Page 80]THE very Methods, which Pharaoh, in his great Policy, takes to bind down the Hebrews in perpetual Slavery, God over-rules, to prepare them for, and to bring about their Deliverance. And while Pharaoh is hurried on in his Schemes, by his insatiable Avarice, and indulges to barbarous Cruelty, God, the infinitely wise Superintendent, calmly looks on, and lets him take his Course, conscious to his own Almightiness, and having his own glorious Plan all before him.—And how know we, but that this same infinitely wise Being, who has had the Government of the Universe in his Hands from the Beginning, had some noble, God-like Design in View, when he first permitted Sin and Misery to enter into the World which he had made?

But to proceed to a

3d. INSTANCE of the Wisdom of God in the Per­mission of Sin.

PHARAOH, full of a Sense of his own Greatness and Power, and of the Advantages which would accrue to him from the Labours of so many Servants, no sooner perceived Moses's Design, but he firmly resolved never to let Israel go. And when Moses assured him that the God of the Hebrews had ap­peared to him, he bid Defiance, not only to Moses, but to his God. "I know not the Lord, nor will I let Israel go." And the more Moses insisted upon their Release, the more his Pride and Covetousness wrought. For his Honour's sake he scorned to yield: and for his Interest's sake he many a Time resolved he never would.

FOR the supreme Monarch of the Universe, who does according to his Pleasure in the Armies of Heaven, and among the Inhabitants of the Earth, had looked on the bold, the daring, the haughty Wretch, and determined to leave him to his own Heart, to take his own Way, and do as he pleased; [Page 81] foreseeing just how he would conduct, and how the Affair would finally issue.

Go, says God to Moses, Go in to Pharaoh, and say, "Thus saith the Lord, let Israel go, that they may serve me: But I am sure, that the King of Egypt will not let you go: no, not by a mighty Hand. And I will stretch out my Hand, and smite Egypt with all my Wonders which I will do in the Midst thereof. And Pharaoh shall know, that I am the Lord: and the Egyptians shall know, that I am the Lord: Yea, my Name shall be declared through­out all the Earth. And thus do I order the Affair, that thou also mayst tell in the Ears of thy Son, and of thy Son's Son, what Things I have wrought in Egypt, and my Signs that I have done amongst them: that ye may know, that I am the LORD."

MOSES goes, and delivers his Message to Pha­raoh, saying, "Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, Let my People go, that they may serve me."—"Be gone to your Burdens" says Pharaoh to the Israelites. "And you Moses, do you hinder the People no longer from their Labour. And you Task­Masters, give them no Straw. For they are idle and wanton, and full of Notions: but I will tame these Hebrews, and make them know, they had better been content where they were." So the Task-Masters with Rigour drive on the Israelites, to perform their impossible Tasks—and beat them for Non-perfor­mance. They cry to Pharaoh, but cry in vain. "Ye are idle, ye are idle," says he, and full of Notions. Be gone! No Mercy shall be shewn you. I will make you repent your new Scheme, before I have done with you.—Thus Pharaoh storms, drives, sets up himself, hardens his Heart, resolved [...]ey shall never go.

WHEREUPON the God of Israel ‘wrought [...] Signs in Egypt, and his Wonders in the Field of [Page 82] Zoan. He turned their Rivers into Blood; and their Floods, that they could not drink. He sent divers Sorts of Flies among them, which devoured them, and Frogs which destroyed them. He gave also their Increase unto the Caterpillar, and their Labour unto the Locust. He devoured their Vines with Hail, and their Sycomore. Trees with Frost. He gave up their Cattle also to the Hail, and their Flocks to hot Thunder-Bolts. He cast upon them the Fierce­ness of his Anger, Wrath and Indignation, and Trouble by sending evil Angels among them. He made a Way to his Anger; he spared not their Soul from Death: but gave their Life over to the Pestilence. And smote all the First-born in Egypt; the chief of their Strength, in the Taber­nacles of Ham. But made his own People go forth like Sheep. He led them on safely: but the Sea over-whelmed their Enemies.’

PHARAOH'S Design was, if possible, to prevent the Egress of the Hebrews; that he might keep them for his Slaves: and that they, and all the World might know, that he was too potent and mighty a Prince to be subdued and conquered by the God of the Hebrews, to whom from the Begin­ning he had bid Defiance.

GOD'S Designs were, by severe and cruel Bon­dage, to wean the Israelites from Egypt; or at least, to force them, weaned, or not, to leave the Country, and be gone. Therefore he let Pharaoh loose, so unmercifully to oppress them. And as for Pharaoh, God let him lift up himself, harden his Heart, be as stout and haughty as he pleased: That as he was desirous, so he might have full Opportunity to try his Strength with the God of the Hebrews. That in the Issue, He might know, and the Egyptians might know, to their Shame and Confusion,—That he was the [Page 83] Lord, the only true and living God, infinitely supe­riour to all their Idols. And in the mean Time he designed to give a lively Picture of himself, as of one infinitely too wise, great and powerful, for feeble Mortals to contend with; Resolved to vin­dicate his own Honour, at all Events; and revenge Affronts offered his Majesty; and carry on his own Designs in Spite of all Opposition. That the Israelites might see it, and know it for their Good: That all the Inhabitants of Canaan might be struck into a Panick: and indeed, that his Name might be declared throughout all the Earth. For he intended, that these his mighty Works should never be for­gotten among Men, so long as the Sun and Moon should endure.

METHINKS, I behold Moses, on the other Side of the Red Sea, standing safe on the Shore, while the Carcases of the Egyptians, their broken Cha­riots, their drowned Horses, Part sunk to the Bottom, and Part floating upon the Sea, and scattered along the Coasts.—There He stands—He looks back—He surveys the gracious, the dreadful, the glorious Works of the God of Abraham, from the Day he saw the Burning Bush in the Wilderness of Horeb, and received his Commission to act in this grand Affair.—Pharaoh's haughty Temper, his impious, covetous, tyrannical, deceitful Conduct, all rise clear to his View—The astonishing Works of the God of Israel, His righteous Vengeance on his Foes, His self-moving Goodness and sovereign Grace to the Israelites, torn away from their Idols, and delivered out of the House of Bondage, all fill his astonished Soul; and the powerful Impressions penetrate the Center of his Heart.—He looks forward too to the promised Canaan, to which the Almighty had now undertaken to lead them, and imagines what Terror the News of all these Things would spread through [Page 84] all the Land.—Inspired with these Views, ravished with the Glory of the God of Israel, charmed with the Majesty and Beauty of the divine Conduct, He spake, saying,

‘I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath tri­umphed gloriously; the Horse and his Rider [...] thrown into the Sea. The LORD is my Strength and Song, and he is become my Salva­tion: He is my GOD, and I will prepare him an Habitation; my Father's God, and I will exalt him.—Thy right Hand, O LORD, is become glorious in Power: thy right Hand, O LORD, hath dashed in Pieces the Enemy. And in the Greatness of thine Excellency thou hast over­thrown them that rose up against thee. Thou sentest forth thy Wrath, which consumed them as Stubble.—Who is like unto thee, O LORD, amongst the Gods? Who is like unto thee, glo­rious in Holiness, fearful in Praises, doing Won­ders▪—Thou in thy Mercy hast led forth the People which thou hast redeemed.—The Peo­ple shall hear, and be afraid: Sorrow shall take hold on the Inhabitants of Palestine.—All the Inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away. Fear and Dread shall fall upon them; by the Greatness of thine Arm they shall be as still as a Stone: till thy People pass over, O LORD, till the People pass over, which thou hast purchased.—The LORD shall reign for ever and ever.’ ^*

AND while Moses thus sang the Praises of God, the supreme Monarch of the Universe, and cele­brated his glorious Triumph over Pharaoh and all his Idol-Gods; so ravished with the Wisdom, Glory and Beauty of the divine Conduct, as to be even more attached to [...] Honour and Interest than ever, and even the better prepared to conduct with that [Page 85] steady Fidelity thro' all the future Trials of his Life, always true to God, and heartily concerned to see the Honour of his great Name secured; I say, while Moses was full of these divine Views and Tempers on this grand Occasion, all Egypt were in profound Darkness: and these Dispensations, so bright and glorious in the View of Moses, to them appeared gloomy as Death.

AND if these Dispensations of divine Providence, which to the Egyptians appeared so dark and gloo­my, to Moses appeared so full of divine Wisdom, Beauty and Glory; how know we, but that God's whole Plan of Government, how dark, soever it may now appear to a revolted World, under God's Dis­pleasure, may to Saints and Angels, after the gene­ral Judgment, appear perfect in Wisdom, Glory and Beauty, and be Matter of their eternal Delight and Praise. But to proceed,

4. To other Instances of the Wisdom of God in the Permission of Sin.

THE Israelites, having thus escaped the Hands of Pharaoh, and recovered their Liberty, had it been left to them to direct their March, and point out their future Fortunes, they might perhaps have thought it best, that being led on directly to the Land of Canaan, they should by the mighty Power of God have been put into an immediate Possession, to be fol­lowed with Scenes of Feasting, Joy and Mirth, ne­ver to be interrupted.

BUT God, who knew their Hearts, who knew how deeply tainted they were with the Idolatries and Man­ners of Egypt, and how high a Relish they had to sensual Pleasures, might easily foresee how all Sense of the true God would soon be lost in the midst of such Prosperity, and they become no better than the ejected Canaanies. Besides, he saw that in almost every Respect they were as yet unprepared to enter [Page 86] the promised Land. And also he designed them for our Ensamples, and his Dispensations towards them for the Instruction of Mankind to the End of the World.—Wherefore let us attend to the divine Conduct, and behold the manifold Wisdom of God.

HE had torn them away from their Idols, their Leeks, their Onions, and their Flesh-Pots; to which they were stupidly attached. He had sent to them by Moses, and commanded, ‘that they should cast away every Man the Abominations of his Eyes, and not defile themselves with the Idols of Egypt any more; for that he, himself, was the LORD their GOD.’—But altho' the Thunder of divine Wrath, so dreadfully roared throughout all the Land of Egypt among the Egyptians, and God was now in a miraculous Manner working their Deliverance; yet, even now they rebelled against the Lord, and would not hearken unto him. ‘They did not every Man cast away the Abominations of their Eyes, neither did they forsake the Idols of Egypt.’ Wherefore God said, ‘I will pour out my Fury upon them, to accomplish mine Anger upon them in the midst of the Land of Egypt.’ ^* [Page 87] But then God considered what the Egyptians would say to such a Dispensation of Providence, and how it would be misinterpreted thro' all Nations and Ages— ‘Wherefore he wrought for his great Name's sake, that it might not be polluted before the Heathen, among whom they were, and in whose Sight, God intended to make himself known to the Israelites, by bringing them out of the Land of Egypt.’ ^† And therefore instead of the Destruction they deserved from his Hands for their stupid Attachment to the Egyptian Abomina­tions, God let loose Pharaoh to increase their Bur­dens, to make their Bondage absolutely into [...]rable, that he might force them from their Idols, and drive them out of Egypt.—And to bring them still more to their Senses, God let Pharaoh loose to pursue them with Chariots, and Horse-men, and a great Army; and contrived that he should overtake them, shut in among the Mountains, unable to make their Escape; that he might have Opportunity to let Israel see his mighty Power, in dividing the Sea, and make them feel their Dependance upon, and Ob­ligations to him: and that having led them thro' the Sea, he might have them in a [...] Wilder­ness, where there was neither Bread, nor [...] nor Water, as the fittest Stone for those-Transactions and grand Events, belonging to the infinitely wise Plan, which God had laid out.

[Page 88]ISRAEL had been in Egypt 215 Years. ^* And the latter Part of the Time, for above an Hundred Years, in a State of Bondage & Slavery.—They had almost forgotten the true God, and the true Religion, were habituated to the Idolatry and Manners of Egypt, well pleased with the Country; and, but for their Oppressions, would never have entertained any Tho'ts of leaving it. Yea, notwithstanding their severe Bondage, were hardly prevailed upon to hearken to Moses, to whom they said, "Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians," as they afterwards up­braided him in their Distress at the Red-Sea. ^†—And they were of so mean and dastardly a Spirit, as to be unfit to march against their Enemies.—God, who knew their Temper, judged, that if he had led them from Egypt strait to Canaan, which was not an hundred Miles distant, the Approach of their Ene­mies, prepared for War, would have frighted them back again to Egypt. ^‡—Yea, such was their Attach­ment [Page 89] to Egypt, their Coldness to Canaan, their Cow­ardice, and their stupid Infidelity, even after a Year's Discipline in the Wilderness, and notwithstanding their solemn Profession and Promises to God at Mount Sinai, that upon the ill Tidings of the Spies, they were for stoning Caleb and Joshua, and mak­ing to themselves a Captain, and returning to their beloved Egypt.

NOW such were the People God had to manage, so every Way distempered, that they needed all their old Notions, Tastes and Tempers to be eradicated; and to have their Minds wholly framed a-new, in order to be fit Inhabitants for the holy Land.

THEY must be thoroughly weaned from Egypt, from their Idolatry and their Manners; and be bro't to know the true God, and to be sensible of his infi­nite Abhorrence of their Tempers and Ways; and have their Hearts effectually broken under a Sense of their Vileness: that they might loath themselves, and turn to the Lord, and love him, and be prepared to understand and fall in with the Religion he gave them from Mount Sinai, that they might be an holy People to the Lord, a Kingdom of Priests, and an holy Nation; that they might be [...] his Praise and Glory, in the midst of an Idolatries benighted World; and that they might receive the promised Land, not as a Reward of their Righteousness,—for they were a stiff-necked People; but as a mere free Gift from the God of Abraham, their Father; and feel themselves, by the Means, laid under the strong­est Obligations to love him, and fear him, and walk in all his Ways, and keep all his Commands: And at the same Time, be so inured to Hardship, and so thoro'ly confirmed in the Belief of the Being and Perfections of God, as that, in an entire Dependance on the Lord, they might march into the promised Land, and behave like valiant Soldiers, and execute [Page 90] God's Vengeance on those idolatrous Nations, whom he had doomed to Destruction; break down their Altars, cut down their Groves, burn their Gods, and extirpate both them and their Religion from off the Face of the Earth.

AND what Method, better suited to answer these noble Ends, could possibly have been devised, than that which the Lord their God took, for the Space of forty Years in the Wilderness: Wherein he hum­bled them, and proved them, and tried them, that it might appear what was in their Hearts: and he left them to hunger and to thirst, and to murmur and rebel, and to commit Idolatry, that their Hearts might be turned inside out before their Eyes: and by a long Course of Discipline, he trained them up to a Sense of his Being, and Perfections, and Govern­ment, and to feel their Dependance on him, and Obligations to him, and by Experience learn the dreadful Nature of Sin. He fed them with Angels Food, and gave them Water out of the flinty Rock: he led them by Day in a Cloud, and in the Night by a Pillar of Fire: but when they rebelled, the Earth opened its Mouth, and swallowed up Hun­dreds, and the Plague swept away Thousands at a Stroke; [...] at last, the whole Congregation of Six Hundred Thousand were doomed to fall in the Wil­derness.

NOTHING impresses the Heart of a human Crea­ture like FACTS. Nor could any Series of Facts have been better contrived than these, to reach their Hearts, and make them feel what they were in the Sight of infinite Holiness, and to bring them to fear the glorious and fearful Name of the Lord their God.

AT the Side of the Red-Sea, they were, to Ap­pearance, full of Love to God, and there they sang his Praise: And had Things gone to their Minds, they might never have suspected the secret Hypocrisy [Page 91] of their Hearts.—But as God had contrived the Plan, in three Days their religious Affections were gone, and their corrupt Hearts, like the troubled Sea, cast up Mire and D [...]rt.—God knew what they were be­fore: and it was wise in him, to take this Method, to bring them to know it too.

AT Mount Sinai, they were again deeply affected, when the Law was given, in a Manner so solemn and divine: and there they promised, that whatsoever the Lord their God should command them, that would they do.—But in less than forty Days, they made them a Calf after the Manner of Egypt, and eat and drank, and rose up to Play, after the Egyptian Mode.—God knew before, that all this was in their Hearts: and now he wisely permitted it to break out, that they might know it too: and that he might have a good Opportunity to let them see how exceedingly he hated their Ways.—He had tried WORDS, but these would not do. He had used the plainest and strongest Expressions in the first and second Com­mandments, but they were not effectual.—Now he proceeds to FACTS—Three Thousand are slain by the Sword at his Command, to let the whole Congrega­tion KNOW how detestable their Conduct was in his Eyes. ^*

AND so again, while the Tabernacle was build­ing, and at the Time of its Dedication, they ap­peared very forward in Religion, as tho' they loved God, and loved his Worship, and were determined for the future to be an obedient People: And this lasted for about a Year. And doubtless they thought themselves sincere, and always might have thought for had no new Trials come on.—But no sooner did the Spies return from viewing the Land of Ca­naan, and bring ill Tidings, but their old Egyptian Temper all revived.—Now Joshua and Caleb [Page 92] must be stoned for pleading the Lord's Cause, and a new Captain chosen to conduct them back to Egypt, which they left with Reluctance about a Year ago: willing, it seems, for ever to part with their God, their Tabernacle, and their Religion; and turn back to the Idols, and Manners, and Looks, and Onions of Egypt; and make their Peace with the Egyptians as they could. And had not the ALMIGHTY sud­denly interposed, no doubt, dreadful Deeds would soon have been done.—God knew, all this was in their Hearts before: and now he wisely permitted it to break out, that they might know it too: and that by his future Conduct toward that People, he might let them know it too: and that by his future Conduct toward that People, he might let them know that he was the Lord, and fill the whole Earth with his Glory. ^*

AND while that Generation was doomed to wan­der Forty Years in the Wilderness, and their Carcases there to fall, as the just Punishment of their Crimes; their Posterity, by the Means, had their Egyptian Notions and Tempers eradicated, and were trained up in the Knowledge of God, and of the true Reli­gion; and prepared to enter, conquer, and possess the holy Land. Nor could they ever, to their dying Day, forget the Works of the Lord their God, which they had seen in Egypt at the Red Sea, in the Wilderness, &c. Nor could they have had stronger inducements to tell these Things to their Sons, and Sons Sons. Nor could a better Method have been taken to lay a lasting Foundation for a firm Belief, and steady Practice of the true Religion.

IT was most for the Honour of God, and most for the Interest of Religion; and so really for the best Good of the Israelites, that they should be thus tried, left to act out their Hearts, and then punished, subdued, humbled & bro't into Subjection to the divine Authority, before they entered into Possession of the [Page 93] promised Land; altho' it cost them Six Hundred Thousand Lives, and many a dreadful Day.—For, to what Purpose had it been, for God to have brought them straight from Egypt, with all their Egyptian Notions and Tempers, into the holy Land, there to have polluted it, and to have dishonoured him with their Abominations? ^*

BESIDES, from the Murmurings and Rebellions of the Israelites in the Wilderness, there was the fullest Demonstration of the Divinity of the Jewish Religion. For, had not Moses been sent of God, and supported too by the Interposition of ALMIGHTY Power, it had been impossible he should have accomplished the Design.—They would surely have deserted him, and returned to Egypt again.—Nor could the Children of Israel, how degenerate soever they were, and how apt soever to fall into Idolatry, in after­Ages, ever once scruple whether Moses were indeed sent of God, after such a Scene of Wonders for forty Years together. Nor does it appear, that the divine Legation of Moses was ever called in Question by that People.

[Page 94]AND whenever they read over the Law of Moses, together with the History interspersed in those sacred Books, they might not only learn the Nature of God and Man, and see God's Right to command, their Obligations to obey, and the great Evil of Sin, from the Law of Moses, as being therein held forth; but might behold all these exemplified, in a most striking Manner, in a Series of FACTS.—Let them but view the divine Conduct in Egypt, at the Red-Sea, in the Wilderness, &c. and it would give them a most lively Picture of the the DIVINE NA­TURE, for here they had the HISTORY of the DEITY.—And let them view the Conduct of the Israelites, from first to last, and it would give them a most lively Picture of human Nature: for here they had it acted out to the Life.—And God's Right to command, their Obligations to obey, and the great Evil of Sin are set in the strongest Light.—Nor were the Advantages of these Transactions confined to those Ages: for all these Things hap­pened and were written for our Instruction, on whom the Ends of the World are come. God is still the same: and so is human Nature too. For as Face answers to Face in a Glass, so does the Heart of Man to Man.—O the Depth of the Wisdom and Knowledge of God! Of whom, and by whom, and to whom are all Things; to whom belongs Glory for ever!—And how know we but that the grand Affairs of the Universe are all con­ducted as wisely, as were these now in our View.

To Conclude, let these four Remarks be well attended to, and remembred.

1. THAT in all these Instances of God's per­mitting Sin, he had a View, to the Manifestation of Himself. They gave him Opportunities to act out his Heart; and so to show what he was, and how he stood affected: and he intended by his Conduct [Page 95] to set himself, i. e. all his Perfections, in a full, clear, strong Point of Light: that it might be known that he was the LORD, and that the whole Earth might be filled with his Glory.

2. AND he intended to let his Creatures give a true Specimen of themselves: that it might be known what was in their Hearts. But

3. THE Advantages of Acquaintance with God and ourselves are innumerable.—We can be nei­ther humble, holy, nor happy without it.—So that

4. IT may easily be seen, how that God in the Permission of Sin, may design to advance his own Glory, and the Good of his Creatures.—And that this was really God's Design, in the Instances which have been under Consideration, is manifest from the five Books of Moses, in which the History of these Things is recorded at large.—Particu­larly, I desire the VIIIth, IXth, Xth, & XIth Chap­ters of Deuteronomy may be read in this View.

WISDOM consists in choosing the best End, and contriving the most proper Means to attain it.

THE MESSIAH had been promised to our first Parents, about Two Thousand Years ago; and the appointed Time of his Advent was approaching: But the World were greatly unprepared for such an Event. They did not know, that they were in a fal­len State, and that they needed a Redeemer and a Sanctifier. They neither knew God, nor themselves—what they were—nor what they ought to be—nor what they needed to bring them right: and were sinking by swift Degrees into still grosser Igno­rance, and the most stupid Idolatry. And had God suffered them all to have taken their own Course, till the MESSIAH'S Birth, Ignorance and Depravity [Page 97] would have risen to such a Height, as to have ren­dered Mankind wholly unprepared for the Gospel­Dispensation.

WHEREFORE God must interpose, and some Me­thod must be taken to check the universal Spread of Idolatry and Ignorance, and to revive the Know­ledge of the true God, and of the Law of Nature; and to make Mankind sensible of their Depravity, of their Guilt and Ill-desert, and Need of a Redeemer and Sanctifier; and so prepare the Way for the Coming of Christ, and the Erection of his spiritual Kingdom.

WITH these Views, about two Thousand Years before the Birth of the MESSIAH, God called Abram from Ur of the Chaldees, and separated him from an idolatrous World, and chose his Seed to be his Peo­ple; that in his Dealings with them, he might bear a publick Testimony against Idolatry, in the Sight of all the Nations of the Earth; and at the same Time exhibit a most exact Picture of himself [...] his Conduct, and set his Character in the most glaring, striking, affecting Light; that, stupid as they were, they should be, as it were, forced to see and under­stand what he was. And, at the same Time, he would let them know, what they ought to be, and the Greatness of their Obligations to the Deity; and turn their Hearts inside out, that they might see them­selves, and discern their true Character, and so feel their Need of a Redeemer and Sanctifier. And then he would exhibit in Types and Shadows, i. e. by Sa­crifices of Atonement, and Purifications for Unclean­ness, the Nature of the Atonement of Christ, and of the sanctifying Influences of the holy Spirit. And thus prepare the Way for the Coming of the Messiah, and the Erection of his spiritual Kingdom in the World: and that not only among Jews, thus train­ed up, but also among Gentiles; who, in after Ages, [Page 98] should be let into these divine Dispensations and Designs, and reap the Benefit of all these prepara­tory and introductory Steps.

HAD Joseph not been sold, and had Jacob conti­nued to live in the Land of Canaan, with his Family, and had his Posterity there gradually increased, until they had filled all the Land (the Canaanites mean while dying off, as the Indians have done in N. E. these 130 Years past) I say, had his Posterity gra­dually increased until they had filled all the Land, without any uncommon Changes, or any extraordi­nary Interpositions of Providence, none of the fore­mentioned Ends could have been answered. Yea, there would apparently have been the utmost Dan­ger, that the Israelites would have been no better than the Canaanites had been: and God might fore­see, that this would infallibly be the Case; and so all his Ends in separating Abraham and his Seed wholly frustrated.

[...] other Hand, if Joseph is sold; if Jacob and his Family move down and settle in Egypt, the chief Seat of Idolatry; a proper Scene opens in the View of infinite Wisdom, where all his Wonders might be wrought: and fit Opportunities, he fore­saw, would present, for the Accomplishment of all the Purposes of his Heart.

NOTHING further was needful, than for God not to hinder Joseph's Brethren, and they would sell him—Not to hinder Potiphar's Wife, and she would get him cast into Prison; where he might be prepar­ed for, and from whence he might be raised to, the highest Advancement, by which many noble and God-like Ends might be answered.—Nothing fur­ther was needful, than for God not to hinder the King of Egypt, and he would oppress the Israelites, till they were prepared for their Egression.—Not to hinder Pharaoh, and he would harden his Heart, [Page 99] and refuse to let them go, until Egypt was filled with the wonderful Works of God—Yea, if God hindered him not, into the Red-Sea he would drive head-long, hurried on by the Corruptions of his Heart; that, in his Destruction, God might shew his Power, and cause his Name to be declared thrô­out all the Earth.—And now the Hebrews, rescu­ed from Pharaoh's destroying Sword by almighty Power, would be in the Hands of God their Deli­verer, to be disciplined, to be humbled and proved and tried, that it might be known what was in their Hearts; and that, finally, they might be prepared to enter the promised Land, and execute the Ven­geance of the ALMIGHTY on those idolatrous Nati­ons; and be God's peculiar People, till the MESSI­AH'S Coming, and the Erection of his spiritual King­dom.—I say, be God's peculiar People, to receive the LAW from Sinai, to be under God's immediate Government, to keep the holy Oracles, to preserve the Predictions of the Messiah, and to answer many other noble and divine Ends God had in View.

A PLAN, in which so much Sin was to be per­mitted, and so much Misery endured, might, by short-sighted Mortals, have been thought dishonour­able to God, and unhappy for the Israelites; but under the Management of infinite Wisdom, it proves the direct contrary. Yea, for aught that appears, God could not have taken a better Method, as Things then stood in the World, to make him­self known, and get Honour to his great Name, and make the Israelites sensible of their Dependance upon him, and Obligations to him, and engage them to perpetual Obedience, than that. As it is written, ‘What could have been done more to my Vineyard, that I have not done in it?’

YEA, It was a Plan not only suited to be bene­ficial in that Age; but in all succeeding Generations: [Page 100] and that in more Instances than can well be enu­merated. Particularly, it has furnished us with a HISTORY of the DEITY, and with a HISTORY of HUMAN NATURE: Such a History as is indeed of infinite Value. For every Thing is exemplified in FACTS; by which, the Mind is instructed more clearly, and the Heart reached more effectually, than in any other Way.

THE invisible God, whom no Eye hath seen, or can see, and of whom it is to difficult for us in this benighted World to frame just Conceptions, is brought upon the Stage; and he [...] out his Na­ture before our Eyes, with a Design to set his true Character in a clear and striking [...].—Here we see, as it were with our [...] how he fore­ordained whatsoever came to pass; [...] laid out the whole Plan, from the selling of [...] Advancement, and to Jacob's going [...] Egypt; and how they should be oppressed and bro't into Bondage, and how they should finally be brought forth, and led in the Wilderness, and pre­pared for Canaan, &c. And we see the Wisdom, Glory and Beauty of his Plan.—Here we see what a Regard he has for his own Honour, and how his whole Plan is suited to set him in that infinitely ho­nourable Point of Light, which so exactly becomes him, as he is by Nature God, and by original-Right the supreme Lord and Governor of the World.—Here we see his Resolution to maintain his Autho­rity, in his Conduct to Pharaoh, that haughty Re­bel, who bid him Defiance, and stoutly refused to let Israel go.—Here we see his sovereign Grace and self-moving Goodness, as it were, forcing the infatuated Israelites from their beloved Egypt, and their beloved Idols: and when he had the highest Provocations to destroy them, how he wrought for his great Name's sake, until he had prepared [Page 101] them for, and brought them in to the promised Land.—And how, in the mean Time, he set his Hatred of their Sins in the clearest and stron­gest Light; commanding the Earth to open its Mouth and swallow up Hundreds, and the Plague to go forth, from Time to Time, and cut down Thousands in a Moment, yea, dooming that whole Generation to wander and fall in the Wilderness for their Crimes, reserving the good Land for their Posterity.—Here we see him exercising his Sovereignty, when the Israelites and the Egyptians both deserved De­struction, and to have been buried alive in the Red­Sea together; he had Mercy on whom he would have Mercy, and whom he would, he gave up to Hardness of Heart, and to Ruin. And after the Israelites had been in the Wilderness above a Year, and had sufficiently shewn what they were, and car­ried their Provocations so high, that divine Justice said, ‘Let me alone, that I may destroy them in a Moment,’ still he wrought for his great Name's sake: and had Mercy on them, because he would have Mercy on them, and was gracious to them, because he would be gracious to them: i. e. from his self-moving Goodness and sovereign Grace. ^*— [Page 102] And by all, we see, that not any Thing, whatsoever, is able to frustrate God's Designs, or hinder the faithful Accomplishment of his Promise to Abraham, That to his Seed he would give the Land of Canaan.

AT the same Time, we have HUMAN NATURE brought upon the Stage, and Experiments made up­on the Heart of Man, in a great Variety; whereby its true Temper is as certainly determined, as was ever the Nature of any Thing in the natural World, by the great Sir Isaac Newton. ^*

[Page 103]So that, on these, as well as many other Accounts, that Plan was not only for the Honour of God, and Good of the Israelites; but for the Benefit of Man­kind in all succeeding Generations.

AND how know we but that it was designed by the infinitely wise God, as a little Kind of PICTURE, in which we might see, in Miniature, the Nature of God's Government of the whole moral System, and the Reasons of his permitting Sin and Misery to enter into the World he had made?—Which brings me—

SECONDLY, After having viewed the Wisdom of God in the Permission of Sin, in various plain Instances, to proceed humbly to search into the Wis­dom of God, in EVER permitting Sin and Misery to enter into World. And

1. As all God's Works are uniform, so we may justly argue from the Wisdom and Beauty of particu­lar Parts, to the Wisdom and Beauty of the Whole. As God's Nature is always the same, and as he al­ways [Page 104] ways acts like himself; so therefore his Works are always harmonious and consistent. So that if we can see the Wisdom of God in the Permission of Sin in some Instances, we may justly argue to his Wisdom in his whole grand Scheme.—Yea, and from the Wis­dom, Glory and Beauty of particular Parts, we may be rationally convinced, that God's grand Scheme is perfect in Wisdom, Glory and Beauty, altho' it be so incomprehensibly great, as to confound our Un­derstandings. If we certainly know that God's Works are all uniform, and if there is one small Part that we can understand and comprehend, and if we see this is perfectly wise, we may be assured the whole is so too; altho' when we try to look into it, we feel our Minds quite overwhelmed with its incom­prehensible Greatness.

2. YEA, were there no particular Instance, in which we could see the Wisdom of God in the Per­mission of Sin, yet from the Perfections of the divine Nature alone, we have such full Evidence, that He must always act in the wisest and best Manner, as that we ought not in the least to doubt it.

IN the Days of Eternity, long before the Founda­tion of the World, this System now in Existence, and this Plan which now takes place, and all other pos­sible Systems, and all other possible Plans, more in Number perhaps than the very Sands on the Sea Shore, all equally lay open to the divine View, and one as easy to Almightiness as another. He had his Choice: He had none to please, but himself: be­sides him there was no Being: He had a perfectly good Taste, and nothing to bias his Judgment, and was infinite in Wisdom: this he chose: and this of all possible Systems, therefore, was the best, infi­nite Wisdom and perfect Rectitude being Judges. If therefore the Whole were as absolutely incompre­hensible by us, as it is by Children of Four Years [Page 105] old, yet we ought firmly to believe the whole to be perfect in Wisdom, Glory and Beauty.

3. BUT if all God's Works are uniform, as has been said, we may not only argue from the Wisdom of particular Parts, to the Wisdom of the Whole; but also from the special Nature of particular Parts, to the special Nature of the Whole; and so from a right Idea of particular Parts, which we are able to comprehend, we may have some right Con­ceptions of the Whole, altho' the Whole is too great for our Comprehension. And so here is a Clue, which will lead us into a right View of the true Nature of the whole moral System, and help us, at least, to some partial View of the Wisdom, Glory and Beau­ty of the Whole.

4. AND indeed, it seems to have been God's De­sign, in this State of Instruction and Discipline, where we first come into Existence, and, from small Beginnings, are to grow up to a more full Know­ledge of God and Insight into his moral Govern­ment of the World, the Contemplation of which will afford the most intense Delight to all holy Be­ings, throughout eternal Ages; I say, it seems to have been God's Design, to suit Things to the pre­sent Weakness of our Capacities, by representing the general Nature of the whole moral System in some select Parts of it, giving us a Kind of a PIC­TURE of the Whole in Miniature, to lead us to some right Notions of the Nature of the Whole.

'TIS certain, that, as all God's Works are uni­form, amidst all their infinite Variety, so it has been his Method, in his lesser Works in the moral World, designedly to give a faint-Image of his greater, and hereby prepare the Way for their being the more easily understood. So the Redemption of Israel out of Egypt was designed as a Shadow of our spiritual Redemption by Christ: and the Deliverance of the [Page 106] Jews out of Babylon was designed as a Resemblance of the Deliverance of the Christian Church out of mystical Babylon. And there are almost innume­rable Instances of the like Nature in Scripture. Yea, the whole Jewish Dispensation was evidently designed to be emblematical. So indeed was every Thing in the natural World, from which Metaphors and Allusions are constantly brought by Christ and his Apostles, to represent and illustrate spiritual and di­vine Things; as well as from the Jewish Dispen­sation.

AND indeed this was Workman-like, and becom­ing the infinite Wisdom of the great CONTRIVER and FORMER of all Things, to whom all his Works were known from the Beginning, and who designed this lower World, as the grand Stage of Action for moral Agents, so to order Things in all his Works, and in all his Dispensations, as that one Thing should give Light to another; Things in the natu­ral World, to Things in the moral; Things in the Jewish Dispensation, to Things in the Christian.

IT would, therefore, be perfectly analogous to the rest of God's Works, if he had designed some eminent Parts of his grand Plan of moral Govern­ment to contain in Miniature the Nature of the Whole, and contrived them to represent, and suited them to point out to us the Wisdom and Beauty of his grand and glorious Sheme, which is too large for our present Comprehension; and too difficult to be understood, but by the Help of little Pictures, where the Whole is contained in Miniature.

5. YEA, We may venture to affirm, that of Ne­cessity it must be the Case, that the Nature of the Parts will certainly shew the Nature of the Whole, in a moral System, under the Government of him who is the same Yesterday, to Day, and forever. For, while he constantly acts like himself, his whole [Page 107] Conduct will be of a Piece, always like itself; and so one Part of it will illustrate the Nature of another: and so from the Knowledge 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.

SHEW 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 thro' 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 thro' the Red-Sea and Wilderness into Cana­an, in which so much Sin was permitted, and so much Misery endured, was, all Things considered, [Page 108] 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-diffidence, 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. i. e. 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. 'Tis 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 na­tura'ly 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, [Page 109] 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 unbiass'd Judgment, we may search into the hidden Mysteries of God's great and eternal Kingdom.

—The Objections are as follow—

1. ‘How could it be for the Honour 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 & Favour, should [...] down into so near a Resemblance to Hell, in Wick­edness and Woe? O how infinitely better would it have been, if in Stead of Sin and Misery here, and eternal Pains of Hell hereafter, to be suffered by such innumerable Multitudes, all had been for ever 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 [Page 110] 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?’

Besides,

4. ‘IF God wills Sin, then it seems, Sin is agree­able to his Will: And if from all Eternity he de­creed the Misery of his Creatures, then it seems their Misery suits him. Both which, as is grant­ed on all Hands, are directly contrary to Reason and to Scripture.’

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 Cloaths, and put on Sackcloth, and mourned for his Son, and refused to be comforted.’ Nor had he the least [...] of Light, for above 20 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 [Page 111] 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 chearfully leave God to order all Things as he pleases: firmly believing all his Conduct to be wise, whether I can see thro' it, or no.’

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 Carcases were doom'd 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 to add,

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 thro' an Affair, which before, for a [Page 112] 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 it self, 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 Plans of Government. If wicked Men are Enemies to God, and Enemies to his Law, as the Scriptures teach; ^* they are not in a Capacity to discern the Beauty of 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 Carcases 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 is not been their own Fault, they began to say, that God had brought them out of Egypt on Purpose to destroy them. ^† 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 [...] 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, altho' all his Dispensations are ever so wise and just. But then their Dislike to the divine Government, be it ever so [Page 113] great, is no Sign but that it is perfectly wise, holy, just and good. Moses thought not the less honour­ably 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 honour­ably 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 168 Years before the Babylonish Capti­vity, after the Israelites had been in the promised Land 693 Years, and by their Perverseness had wearied 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 this 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’ &c. ‘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.’ ^† 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 [...] 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 in the nineteenth Chapter of the Revelation, we have the heavenly Hosts represented as in the highest Exstacy 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 POEE, and his Party; altho' the Poor persecuted Saints in Popish Countries will be ready to join the heavenly Hosts in their Songs of Praise. Yea,

[Page 114]3. WHEN I think over former Dispensations of Providence,—Joseph's Affair, and how dark it ap­peared to Jacob—the Case of the Israelites in fore 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 Favourites of Heaven; and yet the divine Conduct to them was absolutely unaccountable—And as I look along thro' 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 ever was 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 forementioned [...] relative to the Permission of Sin, yet it would be no just Inducement to doubt of the di­vine Wisdom. Yea,

4. HOWEVER dark the Affair appears, or how­ever unanswerable the Objections may seem to be, yet we have strict Demonstration, that, of all possible [...] is the best. For, before the Foundation [...] World, it was at God's Election, to create, or not to create: And of all possible Systems, he had his Choice: nor was there any Thing to byass his Judgment: nor was it possible he should make a Mistake: all Things were open and naked before him: he knew which was the best: and he chose this: and therefore, this, to him appeared prefer­able to any other: and therefore it was really the best.

AND what then if we are not able fully to solve the Difficulties? Is it not altogether reasonable to conclude, that it is owing to our not seeing the [Page 115] whole Plan, or to our Want of a good Taste, or both? It is certain, that we are very far from a full View of the whole Plan. We came into Existence, as it were, but Yesterday. We are just emerging out of Non-entity. We still border on Non-existence. We are but half awake, if so much. When we en­ter into the eternal World, if this short Period is well spent, we may hope to have our intellectual Powers quite awake, and to be in a better Capacity to search into the Nature, and discern the Beauties of God's eternal Kingdom.—And besides the Nar­rowness of our present Views, our Taste too, is at present much vitiated. The best of Men in this World, are far from that high Relish for moral Beau­ty, which is needful to render them good Judges, on a Plan so altogether holy and divine, as this must certainly be. And while we are are conscious to our selves, that, with Peter, we are apt to ‘savour, not the Things which be of God; but the Things which be of Men:’ and that our Minds lie under many Byasses and Prejudices; too strongly attached to our private Interest, but little concerned for the Honour of the divine Majesty, or for the Honour of his Government, and the Welfare of his everlasting Kingdom.—little caring for any Thing, farther than our own Interest is concerned,—Too much like the Israelites in the Wilderness, who were always murmuring against God and against Moses; altho' God was all the while taking the wisest Methods with them, and Moses was faithful to him that ap­pointed him: but if their Appetites and Desires were crossed, and they disappointed in their narrow selfish Schemes, they could see no Beauty in God's Con­duct, nor Glory in his grand Designs; but wished themselves back again to Egypt: not caring what became of the Honour of God's great Name, and quite stupid to all the noble Ends God had in View, [Page 116] in their Separation from the Rest of the World, to be his peculiar People:—I say, while we are con­scious to this Low-spiritedness, to this mean, narrow, selfish Temper, and feel our selves so much untouch'd with the infinite Greatness and Glory of the Deity, and so little interested in, and concerned for the Honour of his great Name, and the everlasting Esta­blishment of his Authority, and general Good of the moral System, we cannot but be sensible, that we are very unfit Judges on the Beauty and Goodness of his Plan: as 'tis easy to see, the Israelites were, on the Wisdom and Beauty of God's Conduct with them in the Wilderness. They were too low-spirited, and of too mean and selfish Views, to be struck with the Beauty of those noble and God-like Designs, God had in View, in their Separation from the Rest of the World. To God it appeared of vast Importance, as Things were then situate in the World, to give a Check to the universal Spread of Idolatry and Igno­rance, and to revive the Knowledge of the true God, and of the true Religion. And in a View to these noble Ends, all his Conduct in Egypt, at the Red­sea, and in the Wilderness, appeared to him perfectly wise and beautiful. To the Israelites, nothing ap­peared of Importance, but that their Interest, Ease and Comfort should be consulted, and provided for: Which not being done to their Minds in the Wil­derness, they heartily repented they ever hearkened to Moses, or ever left Egypt, and would have desert­ed Moses, made a Captain, and returned, had not Almightiness interposed: And the Idols, Leaks, Onions and Flesh-Pots of Egypt, would have given them Content [...] while the Name of the God of Abraham sunk into universal Contempt by the Means, among all Nations, and Idolatry became more esta­blished than ever; as it would have done, had they deserted Moses, and returned, as was by them pro­posed. [Page 117] —Now 'tis plain, this people were no pro­per Judges of the Wisdom and Beauty of God's Con­duct. They were of so ill a Taste, and their Tem­per was so different from God's, that they would naturally Be blind to the Beauty of his Ways, and alway stand ready to quarrel with him.

HAD their Temper from the very first been right, and their Taste good, they might have had a suffici­ent Insight into G0od's Designs, altho' very far from a full View: I say, a sufficient Insight into God's Designs, to have discovered a great Deal of Wisdom in his Conduct, in suffering Pharaoh to exalt himself and bid Defiance, till all God's Wonders were wrought in Egypt; and afterwards to harden his Heart, and pursue Israel, and drive into the Midst of the Red-Sea; that there God might shew his Pow­er, and cause his Name to be declared throughout all the Earth; that Israel might know, that he was the LORD, and might in Ages to come tell their Children, and their Childrens Children, of all these mighty Works; that they might know, that the Gods of the Heathen were no Gods, and might for ever cleave to the GOD of their Fathers.

NOR had they the least Reason at any one Time, from the Day they passed thro' the Red-Sea, to dis­like one Step which God took: nor would they have done it, had they had a right Disposition. Yea, a good Taste would have enabled them to have seen much Wisdom in all God's Ways. ‘Here in this Wilderness, where there is neither Bread, nor Water, nor Flesh, even here is a good Place for the God of Abraham, our Father, to shew his Wisdom, Power and Goodness, and [...]rain us up to a Sense of his All sufficiency, and bring us to live wholly upon him, as Children upon a Fa­ther, and to be wholly devoted to him.’ Thus might they have thought.—And in stead of mur­muring [Page 118] at every new Difficulty, and then falling under the Frowns of the Almighty, they might have spent their whole Time in Prayer and Praise—till they arrived at Mount Sinai—And while they were setting up the Tabernacle—And while the Spies were gone to search out the Land.—And had they done so, had they been of such a Temper, and spent their Time thus, those 14 or 15 Months, all in Prayer and Praise, the whole Congregation would have been prepared to have disregarded the ten Spies, and chear­fully to have joined with Caleb and Joshua, saving, ‘If the Lord is with us, there is no Danger. Have not we all seen what he did in Egypt, at the Red­Sea, and since? And he that has done these Things, cannot want Power, or Willingness to do what remains, unless by our Unbelief and Perverseness we should provoke him to cast us off.’ And so they might have marched right on to Canaan, driven out the Inhabitants, and taken Possession.—But they were of a Temper every Way the Reverse. And they acted as they felt. And it happened to them accordingly.—Their Carcases were doomed to fall in the Wilderness—they behaved like wild Bulls in a Net upon the Occasion—blasphemed God—stormed at Moses—till God was obliged to strike them dead by Hundreds, and by Thousands, from Time to Time, before he could subdue them.

Now ‘they were our Ensamples, and these Things were written for our Instruction.’ ^* Let us take Heed therefore, that we do not murmur at the divine Conduct in the Government of the World, as they did. Nor venture blasphemously to say, ‘He has brought us out of Egypt into this Wil­derness, on Purpose to destroy us—He has suffered Mankind to fall into a State of Sin and Misery, that he might delight himself in the [Page 119] eternal Torments of the damned.’ Whenas, the Israelites would not have fallen in the Wilderness, had they not perversely despised the good Land, which flowed with Milk and Honey; and refused to give Credit to the Revelation they had of God's Readiness to lead them into Canaan. [And let it be remembred, that it was not God's Decree, but their own dearly beloved Lusts and Corruptions, which influenced them to conduct as they did.] Nor shall we ever be sentenced to Hell, unless we despise the Glories of Heaven, and prefer the Leeks and Onions of Egypt, the Pleasures of Sin and of this World; and so turn our Backs upon God, and refuse to give Credit to the Revelation made to us in the Gospel, of God's Readiness to be reconciled thro' Christ, and to grant us his holy Spirit to lead us on to the heavenly Canaan; and refuse to comply with the Gospel-Way of Life. And if we do act thus wickedly, it is as reasonable we should perish, as it was, that the Carcases of the wicked Israelites should fall in the Wilderness. And as their Carcases falling in the Wilderness was over­ruled by infinite Wisdom for the general Good of that Community, and to fill the whole Earth with his Glory: So will the righteous Punishment of the Wicked eternally in Hell be over-ruled to the Good of the intelligent System, and God will be exalted throughout all his Dominions. Read Rev. XIX. 1,—6.

THE wicked Israelites did not feel themselves to Blame, to be sure, not much to Blame, for all their Murmurings and Rebellions. "Who among Mortals," they were ready to say, ‘would con­duct otherwise than we do, under the like Cir­cumstances! We were always against leaving Egypt, and entering on so wild an Expedition. God has contrived it on Purpose for our Destruc­tion! Fools that we were, ever to leave the Flesh­Pots [Page 120] of Egypt! Would to God we had lived and died there! This had been our highest Interest. Therefore let us make a Captain, and return, and make our Peace with the Egyptians as well as we can, and submit to our Bondage for ever.’ When therefore the Judgments of God came upon them in such a dreadful Manner, they would natu­rally be so far from seeing the Justice or Wisdom of the divine Conduct, that their Hearts would be full of blasphemous Thoughts against God and Moses; and the whole divine Conduct would appear dark and unaccountable, to the highest Degree.—And in all this they shew the very Spirit of unhum­bled obstinate Sinners, who are insensible of their Sin and Guilt, and Desert of eternal Damnation, and are ready, to say, ‘God brought us into Being on Purpose to damn us: We had no Hand in it. We would not have chose it. Would to God we had never been born! Oh that we could re­turn to [...] That would be our true Interest.’ And instead of seeing the Wisdom and Justice of God in his Dispensations towards them, they are full of blasphemous Thoughts, and the whole of the divine Conduct appears to them dark and unaccountable, to the highest Degree.

HAD the Israelites been thoroughly sensible how hateful their Egyptian Temper, their carnal Dispo­sition, their Infidelity, and their continual Murmur­ings were; and how much to blame they appeared in the Sight of God; the Justice of the divine Con­duct would, by them, have been easily seen. And that would have prepared them to have seen the Wisdom of his Ways too. ‘'Tis fit, such Wretches as we, should be shut out of the promised Land, and that our Carcases should fall in this Wilder­ness. And righteous art thou, O Lord, in our Doom. We have but our just Deserts. No [Page 121] Wonder the Earth swallows up such Monsters, and that Thousands are struck dead in a Moment, who are guilty of such Crimes. The Honour of the divine Majesty requires this Severity. And even the Good of our Posterity makes it necessary.’ Thus would they have thought.—Nor can un­humbled, obstinate Sinners ever discern the Wisdom and Beauty of the divine Government in general, until first their uncircumcised Hearts are humbled, and they cordially approve of the Justice of God's Law, by which they stand condemned—And are "born again"—As it is written, ‘Except a Man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.’ For it is the "pure in Heart," and they only, that "shall SEE God." For "the na­tural Man," who is destitute of a spiritual, holy, divine Taste, "discerneth not the Things of the Spirit of God"—seeth not the divine Beauty of the Law, or of the Gospel—and for the same Reason is blind to the Wisdom, Glory and Beauty of God's universal Plan.—So very blind, that the full and clear Revelation to be made of it at the Day of Judgment, how convincing soever it may be to their Reason and Conscience, will be far from suit­ing their Hearts. Nor will the Beauty and Ami­ableness of it be by them ever discerned. For as the obstinate Israelites, whose Carcases fell in the Wilderness, never saw the Beauty of God's Con­duct towards that Congregation; so neither will those, who die impenitent, ever see the Beauty and Glory of God's universal Plan.—But in Heaven it will be seen.

To conclude, As all the hard Thoughts of the divine Conduct, which are to be found in the Hearts of Mankind, thro' a fallen, depraved, guilty World, arise entirely from our partial Views and bad Taste; so there is no other Remedy, but, first of all, to have [Page 122] our Hearts renewed and sanctified by divine Grace; and then to endeavour to enlarge our Views of God's universal Plan, and search into the Nature of the divine Government, and the glorious Designs and noble Ends which infinite Wisdom has in View, and will at last accomplish.

AND as the BIBLE contains an authentic History of the Conduct of the Deity, for a long Series of ma­ny hundred Years; and by prophetic Representati­ons, opens to our View Things yet to come to pass, as far down as to the End of the World, and the general Judgment, and the Consummation of all Things; so hither should we come, with honest Minds and pure Hearts, and form all our Notions of God's moral Perfections, the Nature of his moral Government, and of his Views, Ends and Designs in all his Works, from what we find here written. Nor ought any Solutions of Difficulties to be ac­counted right, but such as quadrate exactly with, yea are the natural Result of, Scripture-Representations.

SOME of the Heathen Philosophers, who knew no better, imagined there were two Gods. A good God, the Author of all Good in the System, whom they called OROMASDES: and an evil God, the Author of all Evil in the System, whom they called ARIMANIUS. But it is enough for us, to confute this Hypothesis, that the BIBLE teaches us, that there is but ONE GOD; and that he is absolutely supreme; and does according to his Pleasure in the Armies of Heaven, and among the Inhabitants of the Earth; and that his Providence extends to eve­ry Thing, both good and bad.—And it is supposed, that those remarkable Words, in Isai. XLV. 6, 7. directed to Cyrus, King of Persia, where the fore­mentioned Notion, of two Gods, anciently prevail­ed, were designed in express Contradiction to that Doctrine. ‘I am the LORD, and there is none [Page 123] else. I form Light, and create Darkness: I make Peace, and create Evil: I the LORD do all these Things.’

SOME, who profess to adhere to divine Revela­tion, in order to solve the Difficulties relative to God's Permission of Sin, affirm, it came to pass un­expectedly to the divine Being; as he was not ca­pable of foreseeing what would be the Conduct of free Agents. But it is enough for us to confute this Hypothesis, that we have Hundreds of Instances in Scripture, of God's Fore-knowledge of the Conduct of free Agents, and that it is a Doctrine constantly taught, and inculcated in the Bible. ^*

OTHERS, to solve the Difficulties, have asserted, that it was not in the Power of God to prevent the Fall of Free-Agents, without destroying their Free­Agency, and turning them into intelligent Machines, uncapable of Virtue, as well as of Vice. But it is enough for us, to confute this Hypothesis, that it is contrary to plain Scripture Representations, which teach us, that the Man Christ Jesus, our second Adam, was a free Agent, capable of the highest Virtue, and yet in a confirmed State, so that he could not sin; as are also all the Saints and Angels now in Heaven. From whence it appears, that it was in God's Power to have confirmed all Intelligences at first; and left them moral Agents notwithstanding.

OTHERS, to solve the Difficulties still more fully, have not only asserted as above, but also denied the Eternity of Hell-Torments, and affirmed the uni­versal Salvation of Men and Devils. But it is eno' for us, to confute this Hypothesis, that instead of its being taught in Scripture, it is contrary to what those infallible Writings affirm, in Language, as plain, and express, and repeated, as could have been ex­pected, [Page 124] if God had intended to establish us ever so fully in the Belief of the Eternity of Hell-Tor­ments. Of which, more afterwards.

BUT it will be said, ‘If God certainly foreknew that Man would fall, unless he interposed, and undertook for their Safety: and if it was in his Power to have done it: and if Millions would be eternally miserable in Hell, if he did it not: why did not he interpose and undertake’?—Not, I dare say, for want of Fore-thought, or of a thorough weighing of the Affair, with all its Consequences: for he had had the whole in full View, from eternal Ages.—Nor will any pretend, it was absolutely with­out any End at all: for an infinitely wise Being al­ways acts upon Design.

‘Now God of his infinite Mercy grant, that by a diligent Attention to the divine Oracles, and thro' the Illumination of the holy Spirit, we may come to such an Understanding of this Dispensa­tion of his Providence, as may tend to create in us the greatest Dread of Sin, and the highest Vene­ration for the divine Majesty; and shew us our entire absolute Dependence on God, and infinite Obligations to him; that we may learn to be per­fectly self-diffident, to trust wholly in God, and live wholly to him, thro' Jesus Christ; to whom be Glory in the Church, World without End.’ AMEN.

WERE the supreme Monarch of the Universe an arbitrary, despotic Being, conducting without any Regard to what is fitting and best, having no Reason or Motive for what he doth, nor any End in View; all our Enquiries and Re­searches into the Wisdom of God in the Permission of Sin, must be for ever in vain. If he makes his Will his only Rule of Action: and wills as he does, without any Reason or Motive; a Stop, an eternal Stop, ought to be put to all Enquiries. For, no Reason is to be sought for a Thing, which is done absolutely without any Reason at all.—But if the supreme Monarch of the Universe is a Being of infinite Wisdom, and always chooses what is best, and does what is most fitting, working all Things according to the COUNSEL of his own Will ( Eph. I. 11.) [Page 126] then his universal Plan must be, yea, we may be quite certain that it actually is, perfect in Wisdom, Glory and Beauty.—And now it becomes us to awaken all the Powers of our Souls to Attention: and it is worth our while to dwell whole Days and Months and Years, on this greatest and noblest of all Themes. And if we feel that the immense Greatness of the Plan confounds us, and find our selves still at a Loss, yet being assured, the whole is perfect in Beauty, we will look into it, as far as we can; and hasten to prepare for the World of Light above, where the Glories of this grand Scheme will open to our View, and afford Matter of the sweetest Contemplation, and most divine Delight thro' eter­nal Ages.—Since we are but just emerged out of Non-existence, have so very small an Acquaintance with God's World, and so feeble and weak a Taste, so poor a Discernment of what is most beautiful and best, it must not seem strange to us, if we can see but a little Way into the Glories of the divine Plan. Yet knowing that it is so very exceeding glorious, being chosen by infinite Wisdom before all other possible Plans, altho' infinite in Number and Variety in the View of Omniscience, we may ardently long to look into it, and search the Scrip­tures daily, study the Nature of the Deity, and lift up our Eyes to Heaven for divine Light and Instruction.

ALL that hath been said in the foregoing Ser­mons, being kept in Mind, that we may now enter directly into a View of the Wisdom of God in the Permission of Sin, and lay a Foundation for the So­lution of all Objections, we must look back to the Beginning of God's Works, and view his Conduct from Step to Step, and enquire into the Reasons of each as we go along. And God grant us attentive Minds, and right and enlarged Views, and a good Taste to discern the Beauty and Glory of his uni­versal [Page 127] Plan!—And let us begin as the Bible begins. For that best of Books is to be our constant Guide, the Man of our Counsel, a Light to our Feet, and a Lamp to our Paths, in all the Way we go.

1. A GRAND and noble THEATRE was erected by GOD; a standing, visible Evidence of his eter­nal Power and Godhead; compleatly furnished out, as a Place of Habitation for Man; and as the grand Stage of Action, and Scene of all God's wonderful Works, till the Day of Judgment.—What Use is to be made of the material System after the Day of Judgment, shall be considered in its Place.

WHEN we read the first Verse in Genesis,—In the Beginning God created the Heaven and the Earth—with what follows in that Chapter—We behold the whole material System arising out of Nothing into Being, by God's almighty Power.—First, it exists a CHAOS, without Form and void, buried in profound Darkness; but, in six Days, the whole is set in a most har­monious and beautiful Order; a visible and noble Specimen of the infinite Power, Wisdom and Good­ness of the GREAT ETERNAL.—And how know we but that the intellectual System, reduced to so near a Resemblance of a Chaos, by the Revolt and prevail­ing Influence of the Angels who left their first Estate, will yet under the Conduct of infinite Wisdom, even under the Conduct of Messiah the Prince, stand forth in perfect Order, and the most beautiful Har­mony, a bright and noble Image of all the glorious Perfections of the invisible God?

2. A THEATER being erected, proper to raise in intelligent Creatures, sublime & exalted Thoughts of God, in the next Place, MAN, a noble Crea­ture, an intelligent-free-Agent, capable of moral Action, and a proper Subject of moral Government, is formed by God, and placed upon the Stage, as Head of a numerous Race, and made Lord of this [Page 128] lower World. ‘God created Man in his own Image, in the Image of God created be him: Male and Female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be [...] and multiply, and replenish the Earth, and sub­due it: and have Dominion over the Fish of the Sea, and over the Fowl of the Air, and over every living Thing that moveth upon the Face of the Earth.’ Gen. I. 27, 28.

AND here it ought to be observed, and it ought never to be forgotten by us, that God, in the Ca­pacity of Creator, did well by his Creature, Man. He was made capable of knowing, loving, obeying and enjoying God; as also of seeing the Beauty and tasting the Sweetness of the Fruits of Paradise: and he had a high Relish for Knowledge and Happi­ness.—Besides, he was formed for Society, and had an agreable Companion, and the Prospect of a happy Posterity, who would grow up and honour and love him as their common Father, thro' all Generations. And he had open to his View all the Glories of the visible Creation, to inspire him with sublime and exalted Thoughts of God, who had brought him into Existence, and made him Lord of all here below. Surely, God, the Crea­tor, dealt well by his Creature, Man, whom he thus made but a-little lower than the Angels, and crowned with Glory and Honour. And God saw every Thing that he made, and behold it was very Good. Gen. I. 31.

And therefore,

3. MAN was under the greatest Obligations to love the infinitely glorious God, his Maker, with all his Heart, and to be for ever in Subjection to his Authority, and obedient to his Will. And this was not only his Duty, but such was his Make, that it would have afforded him the most refined Plea­sure and Delight. Therefore let it be repeated [Page 129] again, that God, his Creator, had done well by his Crea­ture, Man. ^* And if after all this, he should fall from God, it must be his own Fault; nor could he any longer deserve the Favour of his Maker, but to sink under his everlasting Displeasure. Therefore,

OF Course his everlasting Welfare must depend on his good Behaviour. And had there been no Co­venant or Constitution at all, only the mere Law of Nature; yet according to that, it would have be­come the most High, as moral Governour and Judge of the World, in Case of the Rebellion of his Crea­ture Man, to have testified his high Displeasure against his Crime, in his everlasting Destruction. For the Wages of Sin is Death. The Honour of the Deity would have called for such a Punishment, as well as the Good of the intelligent System, that all might hear and fear and do no more so Wickedly. Wherefore God as the holy and good Governour of the World, expresly assures his Creature, Man, what he might depend upon in Case of Disobedience. In the Day thou eatest thereof thou shal [...] surely die. Gen. II. 17.

AND thus also God did well by his Creature, Man, in the Capacity of his moral Governour. He let him know his great Obligations to Obedience: how much he insisted upon it: how highly he should resent his Disobedience: That he would cast him, not only out of his Favour, and out of Paradise, but out of his World: Would even put him to Death, and send his guilty Soul, under the divine Displea­sure [Page 130] naked, forlorn, undone, to everlasting Despair and Woe, no Hope being given of any Relief. THOU SHALT SURELY DIE.—And what more could God have done, as his moral Governour, to have prevented his Apostacy and Ruin.—If after all this he would venture to disobey, must he not be for ever inexcusable?

4. GOD took it for granted, that he had now done enough, and said enough; and might, becoming his Character, as his Lord and King, not only demand, but reasonably expect Obedience, & justly suspend his everlasting Welfare on that Condition. Yea, he judged, that as Governour of the World, it became him to do so, that he might secure his own Rights, and maintain the Honour of his Authority. Nor did he look upon himself obliged to be his Keeper, and be­come Surety for him, and undertake to preserve him from Son, by his constant Interposition: But judged, he might, having done enough & said enough, now leave him to his own Choice, as having all needful Qualifi­cations to render him a proper Subject of moral Go­vernment, having sufficient internal Abilities, & suffi­cient outward Advantages to know and do his Duty. And accordingly God did leave him to his Choice.—He was deceived by Satan's Lies,—broke the divine Law, and fell into Ruin. As the Event, recorded in the third Chapter of Genesis, sufficiently proves.—But God and his Throne were guiltless.

5. OUR first Parents Design in eating of the for­bidden Fruit, was, to make a surprising Advance in Knowledge and Happiness; not by such slow De­grees as they had before expected, but at once to become as Gods. Deceived by Satan's Lies, captiva­ted by this Temptation, the Fruit also appearing plea­sant to the Eye, and good for Food, they took and eat.

SATAN'S Design was to bring Dishonour upon God, Ruin upon Man, and then to lift up himself, [Page 131] exult and triumph in his Deed. Being an inveterate Enemy to God, and to all Good; and having a pe­culiar Spight at Man, ^* nothing could give him greater Joy, than to ruin a new-made World, which, as it appeared to him, God had created for the Honour of his great Name, and as a Place of happy Abode for his Creature, Man;—to see God's Creature give more Credit to him, than to his Maker; to see God's Subject desert his rightful Sovereign & Lord, and join with him; to see God's Authority disregarded, & him­self obeyed; I say, to see God thus disobeyed, disap­pointed, dishonoured, Man ruined, this lower Creation spoilt, while he himself is believed, obeyed, honoured, would perfectly suit the Devil's Heart, so full of Pride, of Enmity against God, and Ill-will to Man.

GOD'S Design, in permitting Satan so far to suc­ceed in this most Hellish Attempt, was, that he might take Occasion to bring more Honour to God, and to make the good Part of the Creation more humble, holy and happy. And finally, as effectually to disappoint Satan in all his Schemes, as was Pha­raoh, when he and his Army lay over-whelmed in [Page 132] the Bottom of the Red-Sea. Which Design, for the the Encouragement of our first Parents, was hinted to them soon after the Fall. The Seed of the Woman shall bruise the Serpent's Head. Gen. III. 1 [...].

WHEN the great OMNISCIENT saw, that Rebel­lion would break out in Heaven, and the Infection reach down to this lower World, and spread all over the Earth, he practically said— ‘After all I have done for them as their Creator, and said to them as their moral Governour, I and my Throne are guiltless,—to themselves I leave them—and now will it be known, what is in their Hearts; and I also will take Occasion to shew what is in my Heart: and they shall know that I am the LORD, and the whole intelligent System shall be filled with my Glory.’ (analogous to what is written in 2 Chron. XXXII. 31. Deut. VIII. 2. Exod. X. 2.)

1. God knew that it belonged to the Nature of all finite Beings, to be mutable and peccable; and that the best might degenerate so far as to become the worst: no Being in the System being by Nature immutable, but God alone. As it is written, I am the LORD, I change not. Mal. III. 6.

To be by Nature immutable, is peculiar to the Deity, and cannot be communicated to a Creature; because it implies Infinity. God only is capable of such a compleat View of all Things, past, present, and to come, at once, as leaves no Room for any new Views. And his Views being for ever exactly the same, there is in his Nature a fixt Foundation for Immutability in all his Purposes and Determina­tions. Whereas, the most exalted of all finite Beings, being capable of only partial Views of Things, are constantly enlarging and varying their Views and Prospects, and are liable to have a Set of Thoug [...] wholly new, which may lead on to new Determina­tions and Purposes. And amidst an infinite Variety [Page 133] of new Views and new Determinations, Things may possibly so appear, as that the most exalted of mere Creatures may make a wrong Judgment, and take a wrong Turn, and so fall into Sin and under the divine Displeasure.

WHEREFORE to God, who saw the finite Capa­cities of finite Intelligences, and their consequent Liableness, as Things might happen, to Deception and Apostasy, it plainly appeared, that he could not safely depend upon their Stability. He knew him­self to be the only immutable Being in the System, the same Yesterday, to Day and forever; but he put no Trust in his Servants, and his Angels he charged with Folly ( Job. IV. 18.) or as it is elsewhere ex­pressed, ( Job. XV. 15.) He putteth no Trust in his Saints; yea, the Heavens are not clean in his Sight.

AND yet, for Things to continue for ever in such an uncertain, unsettled State, must have been undesirable to the immutable Being, who loves Im­mutability in himself, and the Image of it in his Creatures; and loves to see his Authority establish­ed, and his Kingdom settled in Peace and everlast­ing Order and Harmony; and loves to see the eter­nal Welfare of his Creatures on a safe Footing, and clear out of the Reach of any possible Danger.

BUT how much soever to the Honour of God, and to the Good of the System; and how desira­ble soever in these two Respects, it might appear in the Sight of God, that the intelligent System should unanimously adhere and cleave for ever to the Lord; yet, in the Nature of Things, there could be no certain Security for this, unless he himself, the only immutable Being, should under­take and become Surety for all his Creatures. There should be no certain Dependance upo n Creatures, left to themselves, how great and excellent so­ever their original Powers: because, after all, they [Page 134] were finite; and therefore must have new Views, and so were liable to wrong Determinations. God, who was perfectly acquainted with the Nature of himself, and o fall created Beings, plainly saw, that himself alone was by Nature absolutely immutable, and that all created Intelligences must, after all their noble Endowments and exalted Stations, be absolutely dependent on him, not only for the Con­tinuation of their Beings and original Powers; but also for their Preservation from Sin and Apostacy. As it is written, There is none good, but One, [...] is God. Mar. X. 18.

2. HOWEVER, innocent holy Beings, who as yet never felt the least Inclination to swerve from God, but on the contrary were entirely wrapt up in him, could not easily perceive how it should be possible for them to turn away from the Deity, and become Apostate. Yea, such a Thing would naturally ap­pear to be impossible, as they felt no Inclination that Way, nor had in View any Thing which seemed to be of the Nature of a Temptation to it. Nor was it possible, they should feel as Inclination to sin, while innocent: for the least Motion of their Hearts to­wards Sin, would constitute them Sinners, in the Eyes of perfect Purity. Nor was it possible they should feel any Force in any Temptation to Sin, un­less the Temptation excited in them some Inclina­tion that Way: for if they felt no Inclination that Way, then the Temptation would appear to have no Weight in it. If it weighed nothing with them, it would appear to have no Weight in itself. So that, as long as they remained innocent, they could nei­ther feel any Inclination to Sin, nor perceive any Force in any Temptation.—Wherefore it must be very unnatural to an innocent holy Being, to ap­prehend any Danger of his ever turning from God. Nor could he easily be brought to know the Muta­bility [Page 135] of his Nature, or ever to imagine it could be in his Heart to sin against God, unless left to find out the Truth by his own sad Experience.

LET any Man attend to the Constitution of his own Mind, and he will soon perceive how unnatu­ral it is, to think our selves in Danger of a Crime, to which we never felt the least Inclination, nor ever once thought of any Thing in Nature, that could be a Temptation; yea, to which, whenever we think of it, we feel the greatest Aversion. As, what dutiful [...] ever thought himself in Danger of murdering his Father, whom he greatly loves and honours? And if a divinely inspired Prophet should tell him, that he, one Day, should be guilty of such a shocking Crime, he could hardly believe it. This naturally brings to mind the Story of Hazael (in 2 King. VIII. 11—13.) who, when the Prophet told him, how he should burn the strong Holds of Israel, slay their young Men with the Sword, and dash their Chil­dren, and rip up their Women with Child, having never felt any Inclination to such Barbarities toward them, and not foreseeing any Temptation he should ever have to commit such Things, so shocking to human Nature, readily answered, Is thy Servant a Dog, that he should do this great Thing!—So when our blessed Saviour told Peter, that he should deny him that very Night, he was far from thinking it was in his Heart to do so. Nor could the Prediction of Christ induce him to believe, that it would come to pass. Yea, it did not seem to him, there was really any Danger of it, as he had no Inclination that Way; yea, felt the greatest Aversion to it. And it did not seem, [...]hat any Thing cou'd tempt him to it; No, not even [...] itself. For he felt, he had rather die, than do [...] Mar. XIV. 29. Altho' all should be offended, yet will [...] I. Ver. 31. If I should die with thee, I will not de­ny thee in any wise. And this was the Voice of them [Page 136] all, tho' Christ had expresly told them, All ye shall be offended because of me this Night; and even confirmed his Prediction by an ancient Prophecy,— For it is written, I will smite the Shepherd, and the Sheep shall be scattered. Ver. 27.—Much less would innocent, holy Beings, who had never heard that any one Intelli­gence had ever fallen, or ever discerned any Thing in the State of their Minds within, or in the Situation of Things without, that had the least Tendency that Way, but every Thing to the contrary,—I say, much less would such Beings be apt to suspect [...] anger of their forsaking the Fountain of all Good, and turning Enemies to the God that made them. Nay, rather, I imagine, they would be apt to look upon it, as a Thing, in its own Nature, near or quite im­possible. ^* Therefore,

3. IF God, in a Sense of their Mutability, out of his own mere Goodness and sovereign Grace, to pre­vent [Page 137] their Apostasy, and the infinitely dreadful Con­sequences, which, in a Government so perfectly holy as his, Sin must expose them to, all which lay open to his View:—I say, if God had become Surety for all Intellig [...]nces, if the only immutable Be­ing had, in such Circumstances, undertaken by his ever watchful Eve, and the constant Influences of his Spirit, to have rendered all Intelligences immu­tably Good; although the Kindness done them, in God's Account, had been full infinitely Great, yet not so [...] for they would not have been in a Capacity to have discerned the Kindness, scarce at all: Much less, to have been so thoro'ly sensible of their absolute Dependence on God, and infinite Obligations to him, as now, according to the present Plan, the saved will for ever be.

HAD all Intelligences been preserved in their original Rectitude, and so never felt in themselves the least Inclination to Sin, but always perfectly to the contrary, they would have been apt to have thought it impossible, that any holy Being should ever depart from God; and so would not have been apt to have attributed their Immutability to God, their Preserver, but rather to their own inherent Good­ness. And so their absolute Dependance on God, the only immutable Being, and their infinite Obli­gations to him, for interposing to prevent their Apostacy, would not have been seen. Nor could they have had any proper Sense of the self-moving Goodness and sovereign Grace of God, exercised to­wards them in this Affair. In a Word, God would not have been exalted so highly, nor would these In­telligences have looked on themselves so infinitely [...] him, so dependent, so much obliged; nor [...] divine sovereign Grace have stood in such a [...] and striking Point of Light, as was really desir­ [...] [...] The Truth would have lain, in a Measure, [Page 138] concealed, beyond the Reach of finite Capacities, there being in Nature no Means provided, whereby they could have come to the clear and full Know­ledge of it. Therefore,

4. THEY were not fit to be confirmed; nor would it have been to the Honour of God, to have confirmed them, as Things stood.—They were not prepared to feel, that they stood in Need of this Super-Creation-Grace, (if I may so call it) not as yet knowing, nor, for ought appears, so much as sus­pecting, that they were in any Danger. [...] stood firm within themselves, nor was there any Thing in universal Nature to draw them aside from God, as it seemed to them. And had God then inter­posed, it must have been to them an insensible In­terposition; of which they felt no Need, and for which they were unprepared to be thankful.

IF God had constantly preserved them from the first Stirrings of an Inclination to Apostacy, as they had never heard of such a Thing in all the System, or felt any Tendency of Heart that Way, his Inter­position must have been undiscerned by them; nor could they have come to the Knowledge of it, un­less by immediate Revelation from God; which, as the Case stood, they were unprepared to understand, or attend to, as not feeling any Need of it. A Re­velation in such a Situation would not have produced the desired Effects. Nothing could teach them like Experience. And indeed this is evidently the Case so universally, that it is even become a Proverb, that Experience is the best School-Master.—So that it seems plain, that Intelligences, as they were at first created, were not in proper Circumstances to be confirmed; nor could God have confirmed them, with that ho­nour to himself that was desirable and fit.

FOR, if God, the only immutable Being, [...] own infinite Goodness and sovereign Grace, [...] [Page 139] shew such a Kindness to any of his Creatures, it was fit and desirable, that they should be thoroughly sensible of the Greatness and Freeness of his Grace. The Kindness done to a mutable, p [...]cable Crea­ture in such a Case, as to the Matter of it, must be of infinite Worth: it being a Confirmation in ever­lasting Happiness. And as the Kindness in con­firming a peccable Creature, must be infinitely great, so the Grace must be absolutely free. God had done so much for all Intelligences in their first Creation, that he was under no Obligations to do any more. He was absolutely at Liberty. He looked upon it in this Light. And had he, to what he had origi­nally done for them as their Creator, super-added confirming Grace, i. e. undertaken, as their Guar­dian, to have been their constant Keeper, and engaged his own Immutability to have render'd them immu­tably good, the Favour had been quite over and above what was due from the Creator to his Crea­ture; and so, had been in a peculiar Sense free. Now for a Favour, infinitely great, and so absolutely free, to be conferred in such a Manner, as that the Great­ness and Freeness of it should never have been seen by Intelligences, was neither for the Honour of God, nor for the best Good of his Creatures. And,

5. IT was but paying proper Honour to the [...] for God, as moral Governor of the World, to take State to himself, and in the Sight of all created in­telligences, to seat himself upon his Throne, and proclaim his own infinite Supremacy, and cloath himself with his proper Authority, and let all know their infinite Obligations to love, and honour and obey Him, on Pain of his everlasting Displeasure, [...] their everlasting Banishment from his glorious [...].—To have concerned himself only for [...] Creature's Good, unsolicitous for the Rights of [...] God head, in the very Beginning of his [...] [Page 140] and when the first Foundations of his everlasting Kingdom were laying, had been to counteract his own Nature, and his chief Maxims of Government. And indeed, as he is the GREAT BEING, and in a Sense the only Being, all the Creation being nothing compared with him, yea, less than nothing and Vanity; So it was fit, all Intelligences should early be taught to view him in that Light. And what Method could be better suited to this End, than to let all the intelligent System know, that their ever­lasting Welfare was suspended on the Condition of their paying supreme Honour, and yielding constant Obedience to this glorious Monarch of the Universe: in the mean Time leaving them to their own Reflections, and to their own Choice; as being conscious to himself of their infinite Obligations to yield everlasting Obedience to his Law?

AND if, in this State of Things, any of his Crea­tures should venture to rise in Rebellion against his glorious Majesty, the Way would be open for him to take such Steps as would have the most effectual Tendency to discountenance Sin, to exalt God, to humble the Sinner, and glorify Grace; and to pre­pare the Way for the Confirmation of innumerable Multitudes of Intelligences, in Holiness and Happi­ness, to the best Advantage.—All his gracious Plan lay open before him. He knew, from Step to Step, how Intelligences would conduct, and how he himself would interpose and over-rule, and how the Whole would finally issue. And he practically said, ‘Now shall it be known, what is in their Hearts. And Occasion shall be given to shew, what is in my Heart. And it shall be known, that I am the LORD. And the whole intelligent System shall be filled with my Glory.’ And,

6. THE State of Things in the moral System [...] not such, immediately after the Creation, [...] was [...] [Page 141] to the Confirmation of Intelligences, in a Way agreable to the Ends of moral Government. God must have done all immediately, and without their so much as discerning their Need of it. For there were as yet, comparatively speaking, no Means of Confir­mation. They had not had Opportunity, in any Instance, to see the infinitely evil Nature and dread­ful Consequences of Sin. Nor did it yet appear what infinite Abhorrence the Almighty had of Ini­quity, by any Thing he had done. Nor did they so much as know their Danger, and their Need of the divine Interposition. Things, therefore, were by no Means ripe for a general Confirmation.

INDEED God could have confirmed created In­telligences then, but not in a Way so agreable to the Ends of moral Government, as afterwards, i. e. not so much to the Honour of the moral Governor, and to the spiritual Advantage of his Creatures.—When Satan, a glorious Arch-Angel, revolted, and drew off a third Part (perhaps) of the Inhabitants of Heaven, and when, for their Sin, they were dri­ven out from the Presence of God, down to act eter­nal Hell: and when the elect Angels had stood by, and with a perfect Astonishment beheld this unex­pected Revolt of their Companions; and with sacred Dread seen divine Wrath blaze out from the eternal Throne of Heaven's almighty Monarch, driving the Rebel-Host from those celestial Regions, down to Darkness and endless Woes: and when the elect Angels, soon after, saw our first Parents turn away from God, and for their Sin driven out of Paradise, and all this lower World doomed to Death: and when they had stood by 3 or 4000 Years, and been spectators of the Judgments inflicted by God on a [...] World, seen the general Deluge, the mira­culous Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah by Fire from Heaven, the ten Plagues of Egypt, the Over­throw [Page 142] of Pharaoh and his Host in the Red-Sea, the Carcases of six hundred Thousand Israelites fall in [...] Wilderness, and the long Series of Calamities which God sent upon his People in the Times of their Judges, and in the Reigns of their Kings, till Israel and Judah were both carried away captive for their Sins, and the glorious holy Temple laid in Ashes: and viewed all God's Ways, even down to the Birth and Death of the MESSIAH, the most astonishing Event that ever did, for ever will happen, thro' out eternal Ages; and beheld their sovereign Lord, who in the Beginning had created the Heaven and the Earth, and whom, from their first Existence, they had worshipped as the supreme God, as God over all blessed for ever, even him stepping into the Room of [...] Man, and dying in his Stead to make Atonement for his Sin: I say, when the elect Angels had stood by for 4000 Years, and seen all these Things, and had full Time for Consideration; their Thoughts of God, of themselves, of Sin, would be almost infinitely different from what they were immediately after their Creation. And now, if God should see Cause to confirm them, that they might never fall, it would appear to them, a Kindness quite infinitely great, and infinitely free. Their absolute Dependence on God, and infinite Obligations to him, and the infinite Malignity of Sin, would natu­rally be so deeply impressed on their Hearts, by an attentive View of all these Things, as would greatly tend to their everlasting Confirmation; and prepare them to receive, with suitable Gratitude, a Kindness of such infinite Value, at the Hands of God.

THE Fall of their Companions in Holiness and Happiness, and then of innocent Man, would natu­rally lead them to se [...] their own Mutability, and [...] them feel their Need of being held up by him, who is alone by Nature unchangeable, and bring them [...] [Page 143] absolute Dependence on him. God's permitting others to fall, as great and good as themselves, would natu­rally lead them to see, that God was under no Obli­gations to keep them through their Time of Trial: which would induce them to have Recourse to sove­reign Grace, and be always on their Watch. A Sight of the infinitely dreadful State of Satan and his Host, once their Fellow-Citizens, now bound in Chains, of Guilt and Despair, to the Judgment of the great Day, then before all Worlds to be bro't forth, judged, condemned and doomed to the most intolerable Pains of Hell, never to end; would na­turally tend to realize to them the horrible Wick­edness and dreadful Nature of rising in Rebellion against God, and make them tremble at the Tho't. And while they behold all God's Conduct towards Mankind, from the Fall of Adam, to the Death, Re­surrection and Exaltation of Christ, and looked forward to the final Conflagration, and Consumma­tion of all Things, it would give them such a View of all God's moral Perfections, shining forth in his moral Government of the World, and set the infi­nitely evil Nature and dreadful Consequences of Sin in such a Light, as would have the strongest Tendency to confirm them in everlasting Love and Obedience to the supreme Being, and dispose them to receive at God's Hands a Promise of their ever­lasting Establishment, with the utmost Gratitude.

THE Angels, who stood, being no where in Scrip­ture denominated ELECT, until after the Exaltation of Christ, some have thought they were held in a State of Trial till then; when by their Confirma­tion, God's eternal Designs of Love towards them were manifested. And it is certain, that when they had been Spectators of all God's Works in Heaven, Earth and Hell, thro' so long a Period, they must be in almost an infinitely better Capacity to receive [Page 144] Confirmation, than immediately after their Creation. And their Confirmation now would be infinitely more to God's Honour, than if it had been granted at their first Existence; and their own Humility, Holiness and Happiness be increased an Hundred, or a Thousand, or perhaps ten Thousand fold.

Therefore,

7. ON Supposition that a third Part were fallen and lost, yet it is easy to see how there may be eternally more Holiness and Happiness in the an­gelic World, than if Sin and Misery had been for ever unknown. For if their Holiness and Happi­ness be only an Hundred Times greater now, on the present Plan, than otherwise it would have been, and if we allow for the Happiness Satan and his Adherents lost, and for the Misery which they undergo, yet what remains must be many Millions more in the whole, than it otherwise would have been. ^* And only let us realize what must have [Page 145] been the Reflections of the holy Angels, from Time to Time, as new Scenes have opened to their [...] and what their Reflections must eternally [...]e, when they have seen God's grand Plan [...] at the Day of Judgment; and we cannot doubt out that [...] Humility, Holiness and Happiness will [...] augment­ed at least an Hundred fold.

1. REFLECTIONS of the elect Angels on the un­reasonable Rebellion, the unexpected Fall, the ever­lasting Punishment of Satan and his [...], [...] their Companions in Bliss.

‘How art thou fallen, O [...], Son of the Morning! From standing near the Throne of God, into an eternal Hell! Yesterday joining with us in the Songs of Heaven; now under the ever­lasting Displeasure of God, banished to endless Woe!’

[Page 146] ‘How durst you rise in Rebellion against Hea­ven's glorious Monarch! And how infinitely vile the shocking Deed! What more reasonable than to pay supreme Honour to the supreme Being, and to be in Subjection to the Author and Lord of all Things, to whom the Throne belongs, and exult in his Supremacy, and rejoice in Him and in his Government! Or what more vile and ungrateful, than to turn Enemies to the great Being, the Author, Proprietor and Governor of all created Intelligences, and to attempt to over­turn all Order and Harmony in the System!—For such exalted Intelligences, in such a happy Situation, under such great Obligations to the Deity for Bounties already received, attended with the Prospect of endless Joys in his Presence, to rise in Rebellion thus! No wonder, Heaven's almighty Monarch, in Regard to his own Honour and the Good of his Kingdom, has banished them from his Presence, and destined them to be everlasting Monuments of his Wrath.’

‘BUT, Oh how unexpected, surprising and shocking are these dreadful Scenes! And is it so? And are they fallen? Who could have thought it!—Such holy Beings, to rise in Rebellion against INFINITE HOLINESS!—So good a Taste for Order and Harmony, and yet have broke the Orders of Heaven! So strong Inducements, from Duty and Interest to persevere, that one would have thought such an Apostacy quite impossible! And are they fallen? For ever fallen and lost!’

‘AND what are we! Were we better than they? Or did we stand firmer? Or were we more out of Danger? Or more on our Watch? No, in no wise.—It once seemed impossible we should fall. But now we are surprised to see we stand.—And, Oh who knows what another Day may bring [Page 147] forth!—We are as likely to be in Hell to-mor­row, as they were Yesterday!—God is no more obliged to keep us, than he was them.—And what if we should fall! Oh how dreadful, how infinitely dreadful the Thought!—We will all go and fall prostrate before the Throne of the great IMMUTABLE; and cry, O Father of our Spirits, of thy sovereign Grace, keep us, we humbly pray thee.—Nor will we ever forget what we have seen. Nor will we ever cease to watch and pray.’

2. REFLECTIONS of the Elect Angels on the Temptation of Satan, and Fall of Man.

‘OH the hellish Pride and Spite and Malice of Satan, once our Companion in Bliss! How gladly would he ruin the whole System, were it in his Power, and even overturn the Throne of Hea­ven's eternal King!—How wicked a Deed hath Man committed! and how righteous the Doom of our glorious Monarch! All who rebel against him, deserve to be turned out of his World, and lie under his everlasting Displeasure.—But what an infinite Weight of Vengeance doth Satan deserve! We rejoice, the Almigh­ty hath decreed to bruise his Head, and frus­trate all his Schemes, and bring Salvation to Man. We rejoice, that the Lord God omnipotent reign­eth, and will for ever reign.’

‘OH THOU, who only art immutable, behold, Man is fallen! We prostrate ourselves at thy Feet. O help us, of thy mere sovereign Goodness, we most earnestly and humbly do beseech thee! We claim no Right to such a Favour. Our fellow-Creatures in Heaven, and now on Earth, are fallen. Thy Throne is guiltless. But, O thou Father of Spirits, keep us, of thy more sovereign Grace, thro' our State of Trial, to the everlasting Ho­nour of thy great Name: that, thro' eternal Ages, we [Page 148] may celebrate thy Praises.—In the Revelation of thy Designs of Mercy towards fallen Man, we see the infinite Goodness of thy Nature, and that thou canst have Mercy on whom thou wilt have Mercy, and at the same Time secure the Honour of thy Government. We flee to thy sovereign Goodness for preserving Grace, nor will we ever forget what we have seen, nor will we cease to watch and pray.’

3. REFLECTIONS of the elect Angels on the Death of Christ.—Attentive Spectators on this solemn Occasion, no doubt, altho' invisible to the surround­ing, insulting Multitude.

‘THIS is he, who brought the Universe into Ex­istence, and is worshipped by all the Hosts of Heaven! This is he, who appeared to Abraham and to Moses, gave the Law on Mount Sinai, and dwelt in the Jewish Temple; then in the Form of God, now in the Form of a Servant: Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews! And this gives us higher Conceptions of the divine Goodness, than ever before entered into our Hearts. That after Mankind had continued 4000 Years in obstinate Rebellion, and given Millions of Instances of an inveterate Enemity against our almighty Sove­reign, yet he can thus freely give his Son to die for them!—But, Oh the Hellish Temper of the surrounding Crouds, insulting the Son of God in his last Agonies! Pushed on by Satan, who knows what they are doing, altho' they do not. And thus Satan will treat the God who made him: This is his Heart. Oh what is there he would not do, had he Power on his Side! No Wonder he is doomed to eternal Woes. Hell is his pro­per Place.—And such might we now have been, if God had left us to fall when they did. Oh the sovereign Grace of God to us! Preserved to this Day in our Integrity! Oh the dreadful Nature of [Page 149] Sin! Oh the ruined State of a guilty World, se­duced by Satan, should Justice take Place! But here hangs their expiatory Sacrifice: the Son of God dying in their Room! The whole intelli­gent System now sees how God hates Sin: and how resolved he is, as Governour of the Universe, to bear ample Testimony against it. Not one of the guilty Race of Adam will he pardon, unless his Son die in their Stead. The Greatness of the Atonement shews how great He thinks the Crime. If all the angelic World had been offer­ed as a Sacrifice of Atonement, it had been infi­nitely beneath this. Yea, compared with this, it had been Nothing, and less than Nothing and Va­nity. Oh the infinite Evil of Sin! O the infinite Greatness of God! How does the Death of his Son shew him to be infinitely exalted! None fit to mediate between Him and sinful Men, but his Son! Nor any Blood precious enough to make Atonement but his!—Nor can Satan, un­der all his Woes, thro' eternal Ages, ever once think, that he is punished in a sovereign, despo­tic, arbitrary Manner: much less can such a Thought ever enter into our Hearts in Heaven, while we behold the Lamb in the midst of the Throne, and remember how he was treated by his Father, when once he stood in the Room of Sinners. Nay, now we are more fully convinced than ever, that Sin really deserves the eternal Punishment, which God will inflict. Oh the infinite Evil of rising in Rebellion against the in­finitely glorious and almighty Monarch of the Universe, the Maker and Lord of all! Oh what an infinite Kindness, that God has kept us from this infinite Evil! Our Obligations to him, how are they infinitely increased! And after all for us ever to turn Apostates, Oh how unutterably [Page 150] dreadful, quite infinitely dreadful the Thought!—If when the Son of God arises from the Dead, ascends to Heaven, and sits down on the right Hand of the Majesty on high, and becomes Head over all the Saved from among Men, in whom they will be for ever safe, whose Immu­tability will render them immutable in Good­ness forever, O if he might become our Head too! How infinitely great would be the Favour of God in this, nor should we ever forget the Free­ness of God's Grace.’ ^*

[Page 151]4. REFLECTIONS of the elect Angels on the De­struction of Antichrist, and on the Millennium.

‘Now at Length an End is come to the long Series of Mischief, which hath been wrought by that furious Dragon, that subtle old Serpent, once a glorious Angel, now of a long Time a Devil­Behold, he is bound, and shut up, and can deceive the Nations no more! Behold, Babylon the Great is fallen, is fallen! Hallelujah! Salvation and Glory, and Honour, and Power, unto the Lord our God; for true and righteous are his Judg­ments. Hallelujah! for the Lord God omnipo­tent reigneth. And, lo, all his Foes fall before him, unable to resist: and the Marriage of the Lamb is come, and his Wise hath made herself ready. And now Christ shall reign on Earth a thousand Years, and all Nations shall serve him, and all the People shall be holy, and all shall know him, from the least to the greatest, and the Earth shall be full of the Knowledge of the Lord, as the Waters fill the Seas, till the saved of the Lord be as the Stars of Heaven, and as the Sand on the Sea-Shore, innumerable. Hallelujah!’

‘THIS grand Event, which to Satan is Matter of so great Confusion and Anguish, is to us Matter of the greatest Joy. And yet once Satan and his Hosts were all of our Number, and we sang the Praises of God together.—Oh the sur­prizing [Page 152] Change Sin hath wrought!—Oh the dis­tinguishing Grace of God, which kept us from falling too, on that dreadful Day of Satan's Re­volt! A Day by us never to be forgotten.—Now Satan lies chained in the bottomless Pit. And we are in Triumph, on the Occasion, around the Throne.’

5. ON Christ's second Coming.— ‘Behold, he cometh in the Clouds of Heaven, and every Eye shall see him, and they that pierced him shall mourn; and the bold and haughty, who once bid him Defiance, shall call to the Mountains and Rocks to fall on them and cover them; the Crush of Mountains being less dreadful, than the Wrath of the Lamb. And now shall the Scene close, and the Ways of God to Men and Angels be all justified: And God shall receive Glory from all his Works.’

‘SEE, yonder cometh Satan, with all his guilty Host, trembling, to appear before the Bar.—Oh never let us forget the Day, when they sang the Praises of God with us before the Throne! How surprised were we at their unexpected Revolt! We then little tho't what was before us: little guessed what was in the Creature's Heart, or in God's Heart. But now we have seen both: And now we see the Result. God is exalted, his Authority established; Satan and his Host are conquered, and are now to be sent away into everlasting Punishment.—And, but for the distin­guishing Grace of God, which has always held us up, we might now have been as they now are. No Heart can conceive, no Tongue can ex­press, the infinite Obligations we are under to God. Of whom, and by whom, and to whom are all Things: to whom belongs Glory for ever and ever.’ Amen.

[Page 153] ‘Now, therefore, let eternal Ages be by us all employed in contemplating God's glorious Works, in admiring the Wisdom of all his Ways, revering the dread Majesty of the Universe, mag­nifying and extolling his greât Name, exulting in his Supremacy, and celebrating the Praises of his free and boundless Goodness.’

IT is easy to see, how natural it must be for the Elect Angels to make these and such-like Reflecti­ons on these Occasions. And it is as easy to see how the Knowledge of God and of themselves in­creases their Humility, their Dependence on God, their Reverence, Love, Gratitude, and Joy, i. e. their Holiness and Happiness. And it is easy to see, how the Fall of Angels and Men, and God's Conduct on these Occasions, gives them these new Idea's of themselves and of God. Had Sin and Misery never entered into God's World, they could never have had these Idea's of themselves, or of God.—And if what has been said of the Angels, may be applied to Mankind, as for Substance we see it may, and that too with some additional Circumstances of great Weight, as will appear in the next Sermon, then this will be the Sum of the Argument—

So clear and so adequate an Idea of God and themselves could not have been obtained by finite Intelligences, thro' eternal Ages, had Sin and Misery never entered into God's World.

BUT the more clear and adequate their Idea of God and themselves, the more humble, holy and happy will the Inhabitants of Heaven be, and the more will God be exalted.—And that, in such a su­perior Degree, as that more Honour will redound to God, and more Humility, Holiness and Happi­ness be in the System, than if Sin and Misery had been forever unknown.

[Page 154]Now, if God's present Plan is in the best Manner f [...]ited to honour God, and to increase the Humility, Holiness and Happiness of the System, then is his Wisdom vindicated.—For Wisdom consists in pro­posing the best Ends, and choosing the best Means for their Accomplishment.—And thus God's Con­duct in his grand Plan is analogous to his Conduct in the four Instances mentioned in the first Sermon: and the same Reasons which vindicate his Wisdom in them, vindicate him in this.

IF the holy Scriptures are read over, and viewed in the Character of a Narrative, we shall find the History of the Deity, and the History [...]f human Na­ture inter woven throughout, from the Beginning of Genesis to the End of the Revelation, filling up by far the greatest Part of those sacred Pages. Here we shall see the bright and glorious Character of the Deity, drawn in a most lively and striking Manner, in an authentic Account, written by God's own Di­rection, of his Conduct from the Beginning of the World: And at the same Time, human Nature painted to the Life, in the Behaviour of Mankind, thro' a long Succession of Ages.—And this Book God puts into our Hands, as the best Means to form us to Views and Tempers suitable to the hea­venly World.—And why—Why such a Book, for [Page 156] such an END?—Plainly, because the Knowledge of God and of our selves is of the last Importance to the Holiness and Happiness of that World—And indeed, on our strictest Researches into Things, we shall find, that our highest moral Rectitude, Perfec­tion and Happiness, must arise from, and consist in an enlarged, clear, lively View of God and our selves, and an answerable Frame of Heart. Let us view God as he is, and ourselves as we be, as nearly in the same Light that God does, as our finite Capacities will admit, and have an answerable Frame of Heart; and we are at the Top of that moral Perfection and Happiness we are capable of.—And if therefore God's great and universal Plan is so contrived, as to put Intelligences under the best possible Advan­tages for this, then it is the best possible. We have before entered on this glorious Theme. And let these Things be now considered, for the further Illustration of the Subject.

1. NOTHING can be known of God, by created Intelligences, be their Taste for divine Knowledge ever so good, and their Capacities ever so great, any further than God manifests himself. For it is be­yond the Power of any finite Intelligence to look immediately into God's Heart, as we can into our own, and view and contemplate the divine Perfec­tions as they are in the divine Essence. Yea, we can have no Idea at all of the divine Essence. Yea, we can have no Idea even of the Essence of our own Souls. The utmost we can do, by Way of immediate Intuition, is to perceive our Thoughts, and thence discern the habitual Inclinations of our Hearts. And if we could look into God's Essence, and see all his Thoughts, we might thence learn his Nature, without any Manifestation whatsoever. We might know God's Heart, by immediate Intui­tion, as we can our own. But this is absolutely [Page 157] impossible. We cannot look into the Hearts of our Fellow Creatures: much less can we into God's Heart. Neither God's Thoughts, nor any of his Views, nor any of his Designs could ever have been known, had he given no Manner of Manifestation of himself. Those Thoughts and Purposes in his Heart which he has not manifested, cannot be found out. Greatness of Genius is no Help in this Case. Sir Isaac Newton could not tell when the Day of Judgment would be, sooner than the greatest Idiot. Yea, as God had not revealed it, so of that Day and Hour knew no Man; no, not the Angels, neither the Son, but the Father only. Mar. XII. 32. Even the Man Christ Jesus, now in his exalted State in Heaven, cannot look into the divine Essence, and see the secret Thoughts in God's Heart. If he comes to the Knowledge of these Secrets, it is by divine Com­munication: as is plain from Rev. I. 1. The Revela­tion of Jesus Christ, which God GAVE unto Him. And if the most exalted Creature, by immediate Intuition, cannot look into God's Heart, so much as to discern one single Thought, then nothing can be known of God this Way.—In a Word, neither the Being of God, nor more nor less of any of his Perfections, could ever have been known, had there been abso­lutely no Evidence at all of his Being, or of any of his Perfections: but no Evidence ever was had, or ever can be had in this Case, but what originally comes from him: therefore nothing can be known of God, any further than he, some how or other, makes it evident to his Creatures. Which is what I mean, by his manifesting himself, Therefore,

2. As all the Idea's of God, which are according to Truth, in the whole intelligent System, originally flow from the Manifestation which he makes of himself; so the more clearly and fully he manifests himself, the greater Advantages will there eternally [Page 158] be, to make swift Progress in Knowledge, Humility, Holiness and Happiness. Intelligences, who are fi­nite, can never have an adequate Idea of him who is infinite. Their Knowledge may increase, and their Views brighten eternally. And the greater their Advantages are, the swifter will be their Pro­gress; supposing their Taste for divine Knowledge to be good. He that is now the lowest, may, Mil­lions of Ages hence, be much higher in Attainments, than he that is now the highest, among all the hea­venly Hosts. Mean while, those glorious CHIEFS may be still advanced, almost infinitely, before them. But while all Ranks in Heaven are thus rising in the Knowledge of God, and in all divine Attain­ments, eternally rising; yet they can never com­prehend him who is absolutely INFINITE. He is still infinitely above them: and they are as Nothing and Vanity, compared with him. Their Conviction of this will eternally increase: and so their Humi­lity eternally grow: and God be for ever exalted higher and higher in their View. Which will cause their Love to his glorious Majesty, Joy in his Supre­macy, and Happiness in him and in his Government, for ever to augment.—And if their Progress will be in Proportion to their Advantages, i. e. in Propor­tion to the Manifestations God makes of himself, then the fuller and brighter the divine Manifestati­ons, the swifter their Progress.—Of two Intelligen­ces, of equal Taste and Capacity, it is possible, that one, by having a thousand Times greater Advanta­ges, may make a thousand Times greater Proficiency than the other, in the same Time.—Let an Intel­ligence, of equal Taste and Capacity with the Angel Gabriel, be created on the Morning of the Day of Judgment, and be placed in some remote Parts of infinite Space, at a Distance from the whole present Creation, and spend that Day in solitary Contem­plation, [Page 159] without any Advantage to gain the Know­ledge of God, but what must necessarily result from its own Existence and Powers; and let Gabriel the same Day descend from Heaven with Christ, and be a Spectator of all the Transactions of that solemn Season; and it is easy to see, that Gabriel must gain a Thousand, or ten Thousand, or rather perhaps a Million Times more Knowledge of the Nature of God, the moral Governor of the World, than that so­litary Spirit.—So Moses, in about six Months ( viz. from the Time he saw the burning Bush, to the [...] of the twice forty Days he was on Mount Sinai) doubtless gained more Knowledge of God, than he had all his Life long before, i. e. more in six Months, than in eighty Years.

As God has formed finite Intelligences capable of Improvements thro' eternal Ages; so it is reasona­ble to expect, that he will provide those who shall be the Objects of his everlasting Favour, with the best Advantages to make a swift Progress. And that Plan will in this Respect be judged the best, that is most suited to this End. That Plan, there­fore, of all possible Plans, must in this Respect be the best, in which is given the fullest and the brightest Manifestation of all the divine Perfections.

But,

3. THE Apostacy of Angels and Men has given the moral Governor of the Universe an Opportu­nity to set all his moral Perfections in the clearest and most striking Point of Light; and, as it were, to open all his Heart, to the View of finite Intelligences.

THE whole intelligent System now may see, what God thinks to be his Due from his Creatures, and how jealous he is of the Rights of the Godhead, and how resolved to maintain the Honour of his Authority and Government.—And now the whole System may see too, that, as he is God of Gods, [Page 160] and Lord of Lords, the original Proprietor of all Things, so he thinks it belongs to him, without the Advice or Leave of his Creatures, according to the Counsel of his own Will, to lay out that Plan which seems best in his own Eyes; and to do what he thinks best to do; and to forbear what he thinks best to forbear; to bring such Intelligences into Be­ing as he thinks best; and having said and done what he thinks best, to forbear to say or do any more and stand by and let them take their Course: prac­tically saying, ‘They owe themselves to me: I owe them nothing.’ And if they fall, he hold [...] himself at Liberty to proceed with, and punish them strictly according to Law, without any Mitigation, the Law being exactly right: so that it is Matter of mere sovereign Grace, to grant Relief to any; a Thing he may do, or not do, as he pleases, for aught he owes to them. Yea, he holds himself bound to do nothing for their Relief, but in a Way that, shall be honourable to his Law.—Never­theless, while he shews such a steady Regard to his own Honour, and so inflexibly adheres to the Rights of the Godhead, as by Office he is bound, be­ing moral Governor of the Universe; at the same Time, the whole System may see too, that his Good­ness [...] boundless as his Nature. But then he loves his Creatures should know how the Case really stands; that the Rights of the Godhead ought not to be given up, and that the Exercises of his Good­ness are absolutely free: That while they view Things in the same Light he does, they may feel, as he thinks it is fit they should, in such a Case. ^*— [Page 161] But Time would fail, to hint at the various Idea's of himself, which he has communicated in Consequence of the grand Apostacy of Angels and Men. Indeed, he has given Materials for Contemplation, that an whole Eternity cannot exhaust.

THE Picture of himself, which God has given and will give, in his Conduct, from the Fall of Angels, to the final Consummation of all Things, is gloriously full [...] compleat. He has been called to act in an infi­nite [Page 162] Variety of Cases; and, to speak of him accord­ing to the Language of Scripture, in the most trying Circumstances, (Read Exek. XX. 5,—22.) he has been tempted and tried, not merely 40 Years in the Wilderness by the Israelites; but from the Begin­ning of the World to this Day, by every Nation, Kindred, Language and Tongue. And has had Opportunity to shew his Heart, by his Conduct, in all the infinite Variety of Cases which have ever [...], among the Millions, and Millions of [...] of Subjects, which he had to deal with. All which, together with all that remains to be accomplished in the End of the World, will be brought into View another Day, and serve to make the Picture of him­self, which he has given, very full and gloriously compleat, in the Eyes of all holy Intelligences.

BESIDES, his GREAT WORK, to which all his other Works bear some Respect, is so much like him­self, that, in a Manner, it gives his whole Picture at once.—An incarnate God on the Cross, if the divine Views, Motives and Ends are all considered, is a Piece of Conduct, of which it may be said, as it was of him that was chief Actor in this Affair—It is the Brightness of God's Glory, and the express Image of his Person. To create a World, was but a small Matter with the ALMIGHTY. With a Word he could bring System after System into Being, with infi­nite Ease. But the Work of Redemption by the Death of his SON, seems to be a Work equal with himself, and in which he has expressed all his Heart. ^*

[Page 163] [...] speak louder than Words. The divine [...] sets his Picture in a more striking, affect­ing [...] of Light, than any mere verbal Descrip­tions [...] have done, had there been no Opportu­nity [...] Conduct. When the ALMIGHTY actually [...] the sinning Angels, from his Presence, [...] eternal Darkness and Woe, it set his Cha­racter [...] much stronger Light, in the Eyes of the [...], than his previous Threatning had [...] when the Day of Judgment actually [...] the whole System are assembled to see [...], and give up their Account, and receive [...] Sentence, it will be much more real than ever it [...] before made to any of God's Creatures, by any Descriptions, or Imaginations they ever had. And it will set the divine Perfections in a Light proportionably clear, striking and affecting.

HAD all Things gone on still and quiet in God's Kingdom, there had been no Occasion or Oppor­tunity for these Works, by which all will know that he is the LORD, and the whole System he filled with his Glory.

HAD the Posterity of Abraham lived quietly in the Land of Canaan, & multiplied there, for 470 Years, the Canaanites dying off mean while, as the Indi­ans do in America, they might have filled the Land with a much greater Number of Inhabitants, than [Page 164] when Joshua brought them in, and no Joseph [...], no Infants drowned, no making Bricks, no [...] left in the Wilderness, and they Strangers [...] great Changes, Trials and Sorrows; but [...] God would not have had an Opportunity for any of those wonderful Works which he wrought, [...] it was known that he was the LORD, and the [...] was filled with his Glory, and a Foundation said for much Good to that People, then, and in [...] Generations. Yea, to this Day, [...] Church of God reap the Benefit of those [...] Works, which were recorded for our Instruction [...] whom the Ends of the World are come.

So, had Sin been for ever unknown in the System, there would have been no Opportunity for the migh­ty Works which God has wrought, since the Day he drove the apostate Angels out of Heaven, and our first Parents out of Paradise, and will yet work to the End of Time, and final Consummation of all Things. All which put together, will give the most full and compleat, the most clear and striking Pic­ture of the divine Nature, for the Contemplation and Instruction of the Inhabitants of Heaven, thro' eternal Ages.

4. WHILE God forbears to interpose and hinder the Apostacy of finite Intelligences, being absolutely unobliged to say or do any more than he had said and done; and while, being left to their own free Choice, a Number of the Angels in Heaven, and Man upon Earth, rebel; and being left to them­selves, all the fallen Angels, and great Numbers of fallen Men, go on in their Rebellion, acting out their Hearts, and exhibiting their Picture in their Con­duct, thro' a long Succession of Ages; they plainly shew what all finite Intelligences in Heaven and on Earth might have come to, if they had not been prevented by the more free Grace of the only im­mutable [Page 165] Being. Mean while, God, as has been said, [...] Conduct, sets his own Character in the [...] and fullest Light. And so all holy Intelli­gences will, thro' eternal Ages, have the Advanta­ges of these two compleat Pictures; the Picture that God [...] exhibited of himself, and the Picture which fallen Creatures have exhibited of themselves, to assist [...] to a clear View and realizing Sense of [...] is, and of what they might have been. Just [...] pious Jews in the earthly Canaan, when [...] the Conduct of God towards their [...] Fathers, and their Conduct towards him, had the Picture of each before their Eyes, for their In­struction from Age to Age. Which leads me to another Thought.

5. AT the End of these forty Years, Moses as­sembles the whole Congregation of Israel in the Plains of Moab; and, that they might be under the better Advantages to reap the Benefit of all past Transactions, now just as they are entering into the holy Land, he rehearses all God's Conduct to­wards them, and all their Conduct towards him, and labours deeply to impress a Sense of both on their Hearts: So at the final Consummation of all Things, the whole intelligent System will be assembled, and all past Things be opened, all God's Conduct to­wards his Creatures, and all their Conduct towards him; and that in such a Manner, as will make the deepest Impressions on all that great Assembly.

BUT as this will be a most solemn Day, and per­haps the most important Day that ever did or ever will happen, and a Day on which great Light will be given to God's universal Plan; so it may not be amiss to stop here a while, and consider, Who is to be the Judge—and who shall be present in that great Assembly—and what will be brought into View—and what will be the final Sentence pronoun­ced [Page 166] on the Wicked—and what will be [...] Consequence—and what the State of the [...] when all is over—and what must be their [...] upon the whole.

1. THE MESSIAH, the Son of God, the [...] of the Woman, will be the Judge. So great [...] his Zeal for the Honour of God, and [...] the Salvation of lost Sinners, that he offered [...] to frustrate Satan's Scheme; and [...] at the Expence of his Life, he entirely [...] the Plan the Devil had laid, and sapped [...] of his Kingdom; opening a Way, in [...] Glory might come to God, and Salvation to [...] Man. Which so pleased the eternal Father, that [...] gave him, for his Reward, the very Thing his Heart was chiefly set upon; even, full Power and Autho­rity, compleatly to accomplish his Design. Messiah took the Throne, and, at the Head of the Universe, conducted all Things from that Day and forward, with his End in constant View, till Satan's Kingdom was destroyed, and he had reigned on Earth a thou­sand Years. And having seen of the Travail of his Soul to his Satisfaction, in the Recovery of a great Multitude of the human Race, a Multitude like the Stars of Heaven, and as the Sands on the Sea-Shore innumerable; now he comes to cause strict Justice to take Place on all the obstinate Adherents to Sa­tan's Interest. Behold, he cometh in the Clouds of Heaven, and every Eye shall see him, and the fatal, the finishing Stroke shall be laid full on the old Ser­pent's Head.—Which shall be done in the most public Manner.—For

2. THE whole intelligent System shall be present. The holy Angels, once Satan's Companions in Heaven, shall now descend in Glory and Joy, at­tending the righteous Judge. And with them the Saints shall come from the upper World, and receive [Page 167] their bodies, glorious and immortal, raised by their almighty Saviour. Mean while, the Saints on Earth shall be changed, and caught up to meet the Lord in the Air. Then Earth and Sea, Death and Hell shall give up their Dead; and all Kindreds, Nations, Languages and Tongues, shall be gathered to the Bar. And Satan and his Hosts, who of a long Time have been in Chains, reserved to the Judgment of the [...] Day, shall be forced, guilty and trembling, to [...] forth in the Sight of the whole Creation.

And now,

3. THE History of the grand Rebellion shall be opened to the View of the whole intelligent Crea­tion: from the Day of Satan's first Revolt, his Expulsion from Heaven, and Seduction of the hu­man Kind, with all his Views and Motives, Ends and Designs, and the Methods by him taken from the Foundation of his Kingdom on Earth, to its final Destruction: And how apostate Men have heartily joined in his Interest; and both, as it were, combined together to defeat the Designs of the Redeemer.

THE Blood of the Martyrs will be brought into the Account, from the Blood of righteous Abel, to the Blood of the last Martyr that shall be slain, to evidence the obstinate Malice of Satan and his Adherents: Who, rather than that the Redeemer's Kingdom should be set up, have shed Rivers of human Blood.—Yea, the Son of God himself has been put to Death in this apostate World.

ALL the Conduct of the human Race before the Flood, and how their Wickedness brought on the general Deluge: and all the Conduct of Mankind since; together with the Methods of divine Grace from the Beginning of the World:—particularly, the Calling of Abraham, and all the glorious Me­thods of divine Grace with his Seed, from Age to [Page 168] Age, till the Coming of the Messiah: together [...] their perverse Conduct in Egypt, in the [...] and in the holy Land: their killing the [...] and stoning those who were sent unto them, and finally crucifying the Son of God, and [...] rejecting his glorious Gospel:—And [...] of the Gentiles into the Christian Church. [...] Lothness to leave their Idols, the blood [...] they made among the primitive Professors [...];—together with a History of the [...] pro­gress and dreadful Deeds of the grand [...] Apostacy,—will all be laid open to public View on the Sight of the Creation.

AND not only these great Affairs, but also in the Conduct of particular Sinners, in every Age, with every secret Thing, shall be brought to Light on that great Day.

AND while Messiah appears in all his Father's Glory, the Reasonableness of God's Law and the infinite Grace of the Gospel will, by his very Presence, be brought into such a clear View, in the Eyes of all that great Assembly, as will not only strike the fallen Angels, who have been inveterate Enemies to the righteous Government of God, and constant Opposers of the gracious Designs of the Redeemer, into the utmost Guilt and Confusion; but also over­whelm with inexcusable Guilt and self-condemning Reproaches, all the lost Sons of Adam, of every Nation under Heaven. The Gentile will now feel himself without Excuse, for breaking the Law of Na­ture ( Rom. I. 20.) and the Jew and the Christian much more, who have sinned against greater Light and despised infinite Grace. So that every Mouth will be stopp'd, and all Satan's Adherents from a­mong the human Race, will stand guilty before God. ( Rom. III. 19.) For, when the Lord cometh with all his heavenly Attendants, to execute Judgment upon [Page 169] obstinate Enemies, he will convince all, and silence [...], who have justified themselves, and spoken many hard Speeches against him. ( Jude 14, 15.) For that shall not only be a Day of Wrath, but of the Reve­lation of the righteous Judgment of God. ( Rom. II. 5.)— [...] while, all holy Intelligences will be fully prepared, cordially to approve, yea, heartily to re­joice in the final Sentence of the Judge.—The [...] of which dreadful Sentence will fill [...] and all his mighty Potentates with Terror [...].— And the Kings of the Earth, and the [...] Men, and the chief Captains, and the mighty Men who had met Armies in the Field of Battle, and looked Death in the Face undaunted, and every Bond-Man, and every Free-Man shall wish to hide them­selves in the Dens, and in the Rocks of the Mountains: yea, they will wish the Mountains and the Rocks to fall on them, and hide them from the Wrath of the Lamb. ( Rev. VI. 15. 16.)

4. HE shall pronounce the Sentence, DEPART, ye cursed. To which, all the holy Angels and Saints, with divine and sacred Fervor, will say, AMEN. HALLELUJAH. And,

5. No sooner will the Sentence be pronounced, but they shall visibly go away into everlasting Punish­ment.—For God, who foresaw their Apostacy and final Wickedness, before the Creation of the World, did in the Creation provide proper Materials by which to shew his Wrath, and make his Power known, and give an eternal Image of his infinite Hatred of Sin, in the Sight of the whole intelligent System. For all the starry Heavens, and this Earth, are re­served to that Purpose, laid up in Store as Fuel, reserved unto Fire, against the Day of Judgment and Per­dition of ungodly Men. And the Heavens shall then pass away with a great Noise, rushing together into one general Heap; for the Heavens being on Fire shall be [Page 170] dissolved, and the Elements, of which they are [...], shall melt with fervent Heat, and the [...] involved in the general Ruin, and the Works [...] therein shall be burnt up. And so the whole material System shall form one immense Lake [...] Brimstone, where the Heat shall be almost [...] intense, in which the Damned shall weep and [...] and gnash their Teeth for ever. For th [...] [...] shall never die, and the Fire shall never be [...] (2 Pet. III. 7—12. Mar. IX. 44.)—And [...] open to the View, eternally open to the View [...] the Inhabitants of Heaven. For they shall be torment­ed with Fire and Brimstone, in the Presence of the [...] Angels, and in the Presence of the Lamb. ( Rev. XIV.10, 11.)—And this great Fire will eternally be a vi­sible Emblem of the Fierceness' and Wrath of al­mighty God, to shew his Wrath, and make his Power known. As when Pharaoh and his Host were over­whelmed in the Red Sea, in Sight of all the Israelites, the God of the Hebrews shewed his Power, and caused his Name to be declared throughout all the Earth: ( Exod. IX. 16.) So now, when Satan and all his Adherents from an apostate World are cast into this Lake of Fire and Brimstone, to be tormented Day and Night, for ever and ever, ( Rev. XX. 10.) it will shew God's Wrath, and make his Power known, in the Sight of the whole in­telligent System. ( Rom. IX. 22.)

6. THE grand Rebellion in the intellectual Sys­tem being brought to this Issue by MESSIAH, the Prince, whose Name is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and an End put to this visible Creation, in which so much Sin has been committed, now doomed to eternal Fire; MESSIAH, with the An­gels, his Attendants, and with the Saved from among Men, in Number like the Sands on the Sea-Shore, shall ascend to the heavenly Zion with Singing, and enter into everlasting Joys.

[Page 171] [...] as the Messiah loved his Church, when she [...] in her Blood, and gave himself for her, and [...] her from the Earth, and washed her in his own Blood, and made her a glorious Church, and adorned her as a Bride is adorned for her Hus­band [...] now the Marriage of the Lamb shall be [...] before all the Inhabitants of Heaven; and [...] all be called The Bride, the Lamb's Wife. ( Rev. XXI. 9.) The saved shall be taken into the [...], and most beatific Communion with [...] Christ. Who will rejoice over them, as the [...] of his Labours, as the Travail of his Soul, as [...] Joy that was set before him. Even as a Bride­groom rejoiceth over the Bride; so will he rejoice over them. (Isa. LXII. 5.) And he will rejoice and joy in them. (Isai. LXV. 19.) And rest in his Love. (Zeph. III. 17.) And thus they shall be for ever with the Lord, shall be where he is, and behold his Glory. And God will be their God, and wipe away all Tears from their Eyes; and there shall be no more Death, neither Sorrow, nor Cry­ing, neither shall there be any more Pain; for the former Things are passed away. All Temptations and Trials are at an End: for ever out of the Reach of Satan, Sin and Danger. All Things are made new, are put upon a new Foot; not as in the first Creation, when all finite Intelligences were put on Trial, and left to stand or fall for themselves, God unobliged to hold them up, in Consequence whereof Sin entered into Heaven and Earth; whereas in this new Heaven and Earth, there shall be no Sin; but in them dwelleth Righteousness. (2 Pet. III. 13.) Christ will eternally be the Head of all holy Intelligences, and his Immutability be their eternal Security. (Eph. I. 10.) So they shall possess this good Land, which flows with Milk and Honey, which is the Glory of all Lands, of which the earthly Canaan was a Type; I say, they shall possess it for ever.

[Page 172]7. AND upon the whole, what must be [...] [...] ­flections of Angels and Saints, in those [...] of Light, Love, Peace, and eternal [...]? What must the elect Angels think, [...] recollect the Day of their Creation; [...] Satan and all his Hosts stood with them, and [...] worshiped before the Throne; and [...] soul Revolt, his Expulsion from Heaven, his [...] to dishonour God, and get himself adored [...] state World; and now view his eternal [...] chained to the burning Lake for ever and [...]

AND what must be the Reflections of [...] Abel, Enoch and Noah; of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; of Moses, Joshua, Samuel, and of all the Prophets, Apostles and Martyrs; and of all the Sa­ved, in every Age of the World, and from every Na­tion, Language and Tongue under Heaven? while they recollect the original Apostacy of Mankind, and the whole History of all the Conduct of an apo­state World, from the Fall of Adam to the Day of Judgment, as lately laid before the Tribunal of Christ: And remember their own former awful Temper and dreadful State while secure in Sin, running in full Career to Hell: And consider how they were pitied and redeemed by an incarnate God, and stopt and reclaimed by sovereign Grace, and kept by the Power of God thro' Faith unto Salvati­on; but for which, they not only might, but cer­tainly would have been, in the same infinitely dread­ful Condition they now behold others in, once their Neighbours and Companions, chained among De­vils to the burning Lake.

As the pious Israelites, when quietly settled in the earthly Canaan, would naturally call to mind the Day, when they were Bondmen in the Land of Egypt, and the Egyptian Manners, and the idola­trous Customs in which they were educated: And [Page 173] how they had forgotten the God of Abraham, and the promised Land, until the Arrival of Moses from the Land of Midian, with the Rod of God in his Hand: And how they felt in the Time of the Plagues, and at their Egression, and when pursued by Pharaoh, and when passing thro' the Sea on dry Grounds and when they found themselves safe on the other Shore, while Pharaoh and his Hosts were [...] like lead in the mighty Waters:—And talk [...] their Wilderness-Travels, and all God's [...] Works: And how they sinned at Massah, [...], and Kibroth-hattaavah, and were always [...] the Lord to Wrath: And how the [...] of six hundred Thousand fell in the Wilder­ness. ‘Yea, and we should all have been cut off and destroyed, had not the Lord wrought for his great Name's sake. It was not for our Righte­ousness, nor for the Uprightness of our Hearts, that he brought us into this good Land: but from his own sovereign, self-moving Goodness, and that he might fill the whole Earth with his Glory. Wherefore we will tell our Sons, and our Sons Sons, what God hath wrought; that we and they may fear and reverence that fearful and glo­rious Name, THE LORD OUR GOD, and adore his distinguishing Goodness, and walk in all his Ways, and keep all his Commands for ever.’—So it will be just as natural for those, who are saved from among Men, when the Day of Judgment is past, and they safe in the heavenly Canaan, from thence to look back, and survey, and talk over all the Ways of God to Men, and all the Ways of Man to God, from the Creation to the final Con­flagration. And while they behold the divine Na­ture set in so clear, strong and striking a Light; and the Picture still brightened by a View of the shock­ing [Page 174] Conduct of the human Race towards [...]—how will they feel, and what will they say?

LET us but imagine our selves in the Company of the Saved, and attend to the Conversation of Heaven. Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles and Mar­tyrs, and Angels mixt in the same Assembly all join to carry on the Conversation, each filled [...] Delight, while the Ways of God to Mankind the Ways of Man to God, are all the Theme.

ADAM begins.— ‘How surprizing [...] my self and so many of my Posterity in the [...] World, happier a thousand Times than the [...] I lost! Indeed, I was happy then, but the Scenes of Darkness, Guilt and Woe I passed thro' after my Revolt from God, and all I have seen and heard from that Day to this, Things never to be forgotten, will for ever heighten the Joys of this blessed Place. But, Oh, my soul Revolt! How infinitely heinous was the Crime! How just, if God had left me and all my Race to have gone on in Rebellion, died in Despair, and spent eternal Ages with Satan and his Hosts, in yonder Lake of Fire and Brimstone! But sovereign Grace interposed! And now I see the Promise accomplished; The Seed of the Woman hath bruised the Serpent's Head. Know it then, you are happy, not by me. Not to me therefore, but to God, and God alone, is all the Glory due.’

GABRIEL next— ‘Indeed, ye Sons of Men, is all the Glory due to God. He only is Immu­table. See in yon Lake, Satan and all his Hosts for ever lost. Once this was their Abode. With us they worshipped before the Throne. But they fell. And so might we have done, but for the Grace of God. And so might all Mankind have fallen too, had they been created at once, as we in Heaven were; and each set to act for [Page 175] himself, as many of Adam's conceited Sons have often foolishly wished had been the Case. From the Day that Satan fell, to this very Hour, every Thing we have observed, has joined to esta­blish us in this, that there is no Safety for finite Intelligences, but in God alone. He only is by Nature immutable. Nor can a Creature, how exalted soever, arrive so near to a State of Inde­pendence, as to be in himself immutably good. God is our Strength and Refuge, and the only Source of our eternal Stability. Of whom, and by whom, and to whom are all Things, to whom belongs Glory for ever!’

St. PAUL— ‘No doubt, the Interest of the human Race was as safe in Adam's Hands, as it would have been in our own. And it being no Injury to us, God might, without any Injustice to us, appoint him our public Head. And, in­deed, considering the Design God had in View, there was great Wisdom in that Constitution. For Adam was suited, as a Type and Shadow, while we dwelt in that World of Darkness, to assist us to right Conceptions of Christ, our se­cond Adam, our second public Head. The Om­niscient, seeing no Trust could be put in his Saints, and that even the Angels could not be depended upon, did, before the Foundation of the World, design his own Son should become incarnate, and stand forth as the first-born of every Creature, the Head of the Creation of God; that in him he might gather together, fix and establish all the Elect, whether belonging to Heaven or Earth, as we see at this Day.’

ADAM— ‘How glorious is the Exchange! Once I was your public Head: but in me all was lost. God left me, that it might be seen what was in my Heart; that it might appear, all [Page 176] Flesh is but Grass. And now, not I, [...] his own Son is your Head. And your eternal Wel­fare is secured in the divine Immutability. This Glory was due to God alone, who only is un­changeable. And this Glory, by Means of my Fall, God has taken to himself in the Sight of the whole intellectual System.’

GABRIEL— ‘So Satan once stood at the Head of all the angelic Hosts, who revolved with him, a mighty CHIEF. And like [...] Morning-Star, excelled in Lustre all [...] of Heaven. But how art thou fallen, O [...], Son of the Morning! And how hast [...] drawn off a third Part of the Stars of Heaven, to join in thy Revolt!’ ^*

ST. PAUL— ‘BUT now, not an Arch-angel, nor the Father of Mankind, but God's dear Son, is, in this new State of Things, at the Head of all holy Intelligences. Both Angels and Men are gathered together in One; even in him, who is the Image of the invisible God, and has exhi­bited the sublimest Picture of the Deity in all his Works, but chiefly in the Work of our Redemp­tion.’

ADAM— ‘AND all is free sovereign Grace!—His giving Being, natural Powers, and moral Ex­cellencies to his Creatures in their first Creation, brought them into Debt to him; but not him to them. They owed themselves to him: he owed them nothing. He was unobliged to become their Surety. I ought to have been obedient to the God that made me. But I fell. And the [Page 177] Throne of the Almighty was guiltless. De­struction was our due. Oh, how free and sove­reign is the Grace that has saved us!’

MOSES— ‘WHAT must have been the Con­sequence, had Mankind in their fallen State been merely under the Law of Nature, which requir­ed sinless Perfection, cursing the Man who conti­nued not in all Things! And yet this Law was strictly righteous. And as such, was it republished from Mount Sinai, by the holy ONE of Israel. But altho' our Depravity did not free us from the Government and Authority of God, yet it laid a sure Foundation for our breaking the Law. And so, had mere Law taken Place, we should all have been for ever lost.—And this had been but strict­ly just.—But Oh, the free and boundless Grace of God!—His own Son became a Curse for us, that all these Blessings we now enjoy, in this happy World, might come upon us.’

St. PAUL— ‘CREATURES becoming apostate, and turning Enemies and Rebels to the God that made them, this did not in the least disannul God's Right to them, and Authority over them; but they still remained by Right his Subjects, and under his Government, and accountable at his Tribunal. And accordingly we have lately seen wicked Men and Devils brought to the Bar, and there stand without Excuse, every Mouth stopt, all of them guilty before God.—On the Foot of mere Law, therefore, God might justly have dealt with us after our Apostacy; and by Law might have judged and condemned us all to yonder Lake of Fire and Brimstone, to welter out eter­nal Ages.—O the Height, and Depth, and Length, and Breadth of the Love of Christ, which passeth all Understanding!—The Law was holy, just and good—He judged it so—he died to answer [Page 178] its Demands. Nor did he ask our Pardon at his Father's Hands, on cheaper Terms.’ ^*

GABRIEL— ‘How had it gratified the in­fernal Hosts, lately banished the heavenly World, by Law, to have seen LAW set aside in Favour of a fallen Race! And how would they have tri­umphed, to see the Judge of the whole System res­pect Persons, and have no Regard to Right!—Better, infinitely better, all the human Race had been for ever lost.’

St. PAUL— ‘You speak the Sentiments of all the Saved. Had we been pardoned to God's Dishonour, it would have sapped the Foundation of all our Joys.—How much soever you pitied our Case, you never desired our Relief in such a Way.’

GABRIEL— ‘I remember well the Day, the News of your Revolt first reached the heavenly World.—We thought you all for ever lost—and approved the Thing as just—We saw no Way for your Relief—nor shall we ever forget how Things appeared—God's new Creation all in Ruins: and Satan triumphing in his Deed.—But, O the Love of God to you! And O the boundless Wisdom of him who sits upon the Throne!’

[Page 179] MOSES— ‘So Israel once, for their Idolatry, stood all condemn'd to Death— Let me alone, the Almighty said, that in a Moment I may destroy them—I knew, the Cause was just. And never shall forget how he wrought for his GREAT NAME'S SAKE.’

GABRIEL— ‘That was but a faint Image of this. For now a whole World lay in Ruins—and Satan and all his Hosts in Triumph were rea­dy to say, 'Tis beyond the ALMIGHTY himself to dis­concert our Plan. His Honour, Law and Truth oblige him to accomplish the Thing we would—Devote the World to Death.’

ADAM— ‘Now the full Purport of those mysterious Words, The Seed of the Woman shall bruise the Serpent's Head, once the Foundation of all my Hopes, altho' but little understood, now their full Purport all opens to View.—On the Cross, he spoiled Principalities and Powers, sapped the Foundation of Satan's Hopes, and ruined all his hellish Scheme—Since his Exaltation, he has compleated his whole Design—Yonder now lies the old Serpent, his Head, altho' so replete with Craft and Poison, thoro'ly bruised, and himself chained in the burning Lake.—But why am I among the Saved! Never was there such an In­stance of free sovereign Grace! Satan began Re­bellion in Heaven, and I began Rebellion on Earth: and why are we not now both together, in the same burning Lake?’

ABEL— ‘THERE is my Brother Cain, for ever lost.—O the sovereign Grace of God to me!’

NOAH— ‘THERE are the Inhabitants of the old World.—They filled the Earth with Violence—were deaf to all the Warnings of a long-suffer­ing God—were destroyed in the general Deluge—now weltring in the burning Lake.—O the so­vereign [Page 180] Grace of God to me! Saved then in the Ark: Safe now in Christ.’

ABRAHAM— ‘SUCH a universal Deluge, such a dreadful Destruction, one would have tho't, would never have been forgotten. But no soon­er did Mankind increase, but they turned their Backs on God: and in a few Ages, all began to sink into Idolatry. Then was I born in Ur of the Chaldees, where I might have lived and died estranged from God, and been now among the Damned, had not God of his sovereign Grace vi­sited my Soul, and called me from the Idols of my native Land. But behold, now here I am, and here is Isaac my Son, and Jacob my Grand­son, and Thousands of my Posterity, in Glory! Everlasting Praise is due to free and sovereign Grace.’

St. PETER— ‘YONDER, in that Lake of Fire and Brimstone, is Judas the Traitor, once a Follower of Christ, now doomed to endless Woe. Oh never shall I forget the black and gloomy Night, when I cursed & wore, I know not the Man, my blessed Master! Nor shall I ever forget the kind Look, which bro't me to Repentance. Nor shall I ever cease to adore sovereign distinguish­ing Grace, but for which I had now been with Judas in the burning Lake.’

St. PAUL— ‘BUT of all the Saved, no In­stance of sovereign Grace, like me! ^* Once a Per­secutor, [Page 181] and a Blasphemer. Never shall I forget the Day I set out for Damascus, breathing forth Threatnings and Slaughter against the Disciples of the holy Jesus. But, O the Grace, the so­vereign Grace of God, that stopped me in my Career—sent me to carry the glad Tidings of Sal­vation to the Gentiles,—and gave me Thousands to be my Joy and Crown of Rejoicing; as it is this Day!’

St. PAUL'S CONVERTS— ‘Once we were dead in Trespasses and Sins, buried in heathenish Darkness; and even under the full Power of the Prince of Darkness; and might now have been with him in Woe. But, O the sovereign Grace of God to us, who sent his chosen Vessel, and called us out of Darkness into marvellous Light, and now hath brought us to this World of Joy!—Eternal Praises to the Lord.’

[THOUSANDS and Millions will speak the same Language, and all join to prostrate themselves before the Throne, and give all the Glory and Praise of their Salvation to God and to the Lamb: and with the most fervent Love and Gratitude, attended with the deepest Humility and Reverence, devote themselves to God thro' Jesus Christ for ever and ever.—And while all this is observed, very natural must the fol­lowing Reflections be.]

GABRIEL— ‘How is Satan disappointed in every Respect! And Heaven become a more [Page 182] glorious and happy Place, than ever it was!—I remember, when there was nothing but Love, Order and Harmony in Heaven and Earth. I remember, when Satan a glorious Archangel first broke Order in Heaven, rose up in Rebellion a­gainst the ALMIGHTY; and how he carried the Infection down to Earth. And I remember the horrible Tragedies he has acted over, from Age to Age, at the Head of the Powers of Darkness, ruling in the Children of Disobedience, and filling the World of Mankind with Sin and Woe: and the mighty Opposition he has constantly made against the Interest and Kingdom of the Messiah; sometimes as a great Red Dragon, thinking by Fire and Sword to bear down all before him; and then as an Angel of Light, spreading Delu­sions far and wide; not caring what Shapes he put on, if by any Means he might attain his Ends.—But now his Day is over. His Designs are frustrated: His Expectations disappointed, and his Kingdom ruined. And behold, Yonder lies the Monster, chained in that burning Lake; now the only Place of his everlasting Abode; wel­tring in Horror, Rage and dreadful Dispair!’

‘IF he hoped to bring our glorious Monarch into Contempt in his Dominions, among his Creatures; he is disappointed. For God is more loved, honour­ed, revered, extolled & praised, than if these Things had never happened.—If he hoped to lessen his Authority, and bring his Law into Contempt, that it should be looked upon a light Matter to transgress; he is in this also disappointed. For never would it have appeared so infinitely hei­nous, and so shockingly dreadful a Thing, to transgress, if these Things had never happened.—Or if he hoped, at least, that the Execution of divine Vengeance would lessen the Manifesta­tions [Page 183] of divine Goodness, and diminish the Hap­piness of the intellectual System; he is also dis­appointed [...] this. For God has shewn his Wrath in such a Manner, as to render the Riches of his glorious Grace infinitely the more conspicuous, in the Sight of all the Inhabitants of Heaven; and their Love and Joy arise unspeakably higher, than if these Things had never happened.—Yea, all Things have worked for Good, and turn­ed out well. His Pride has been the Means of a great Increase of Humility among finite Intelli­gences; as it has led them to see what they might have come to, if left of God. His Fall has been the Means of our Confirmation. His In­gratitude, of our being for ever the more sensi­ble of the rich Goodness of God. His setting up to be independent, the Means to bring us to a more absolute and entire Dependance on God, the only immutable Being. And his aiming at Supremacy, seducing, Mankind, and raising all this Confusion in the System, has occasioned the AL­MIGHTY to assert his own Supremacy, and set his own SON at the Head of the Creation, and in him to bring all Things to an everlasting Esta­blishment, in a Way most honourable to God, and most advantageous to the System.—So that he is disappointed in every Respect.—He meant all for Evil: but lo, God meant all for Good, to bring to pass as it is this Day.’

‘So all his Successes have now at last ended in the eternal Ruin of his Cause: And his Triumphs, in eternal Despair of ever again lifting up his Head. And all the Mischief he hath wrought, hath in Fact brought down a ten-fold Vengeance on himself, in yon Lake of Fire and Brimstone; where he is doomed to he, weltring under divine Wrath, thro' endless Ages, to exhibit to the View [Page 184] of all Intelligences, the evil Nature and dreadful Consequences of Rebellion.—Mean while, GOD and his MESSIAH reign, and will for ever reign—And thus the Seed of the Woman hath bruised the Serpent's Head. AMEN. HALLELUJAH.’

SUCH will be the Reflections of Angels and Saints after the Day of Judgment, when they have seen God's grand Plan finished, and from those celestial Regions look back and review the Whole.

AND now, who can doubt, but that the Humility, Holiness and Happiness of the Saved will be much greater, perhaps a Thousand Times, perhaps Ten Thousand Times greater, than if these Things had never happened? And how know we, therefore, but that there may, on the present Plan, more Ho­nour redound to God, and more Good to the System, on the whole, than if Sin and Misery had been for ever unknown; yea, almost infinitely more? ^*

Objection. ‘BUT was there no other Way, in which God could have made Angels and Men as holy and happy without the Permission of Sin?’

Answer. No. Not if there were no other Way, in which he could so clearly and full manifest, and so advantageously communicate himself to his Crea­tures as this.—For his Creatures can neither be holy nor happy, but in the Knowledge and Enjoy­ment of him. Now, if I am not able to prove there was no Way, yet the Objector cannot possibly con­trive a Way, in which God could have given such [Page 185] clear and full Manifestations of himself, and com­municate Good to his Creatures, in every Respect so advantageously, Sin and Misery being for ever unknown, as he has, and will, upon the present Plan. So that, for aught the Objector, or I, know, this, of all possible Plans, may be the best contrived, to give a full and clear Manifestation of the Deity, and raise Intelligences to the highest Pitch of moral Perfection and Happiness. And its being chosen by infinite Wisdom before all others, demonstrates, that this is actually the Case.

THUS then stands the Argument. God's per­mitting Joseph to be sold into Egypt in the Manner he was, of all other Methods was, as Things were circumstanced, the best calculated to answer the noble Ends God had in View; at least, so far as we can see: and God's actually choosing that Me­thod, demonstrates, it was actually the best; infinite Wisdom being Judge.—So here—God's laying out the present Plan is, of all possible Methods, the best to answer the noble Ends God has in View; at least, so far as we can see: and God's choosing this, before all others, demonstrates, that this is actually the Case; infinite Wisdom being Judge.

Obj. ‘BUT if we grant this to be the best Me­thod to accomplish the Ends God had in View, and grant his Ends are ever so noble and glori­ous; yet how could it be right, for him to do Evil, that Good might come?’

Answ. 1. As God was not obliged to interpose and hinder Joseph's being sold, so his not interpo­sing, cannot be called, doing Evil.—And God's not hindering the Apostasy of Angels and Men, can in no Sense be called, doing Evil that Good might come; un­less we can first prove, that he was bound to hinder them. And let this once be proved, the Con­sequence will be, if any of God's Creatures and [Page 186] Subjects, at any Time sin, then God must bear the Blame. And so, not the Creature, but the Creator, will be under Bonds.

2. IN some Cases, even we our selves have a Right, in a Sense to permit Sin, and may act wisely in do­ing so, as common Sense teaches all Mankind [...] Thus, a wise and good Master, who has a very lazy, unfaithful, deceitful Servant, whom he often catches at Play, when he ought to be at his Work, and whose Manner is to he himself clear, if he pos­sibly can, may, upon a Time, if he pleases, unseen by his Servant, stand an Hour, and let him take his Course, with a View more thoro'ly to convict him, and reform him. And this is not doing Evil, that Good may come, but acting wisely, in Order to reclaim a lazy, deceitful Servant.

3. GOD was at the Head of the System, which was all his own; and it belonged to him, to lay out a universal Plan, if I may compare great Things with small, just as it belongs to the Head of a Fa­mily, to lay out Family-Schemes. And he knew perfectly well, what would be most to his own Ho­nour, and to the general Good of the System, whe­ther to become Surety for all Intelligences at their first Creation, before they had learnt their Need of his Interposition—or, rather, to let them take their Course, and learn by Experience, what was no other Way so well to be learnt, that they might be the better prepared to acknowledge him as the only Being by Nature immutably good, and to receive with suitable Gratitude, this Super-Creation-Grace, and give him Opportunity, mean while, to shew that he was the LORD, and fill the whole System with his Glory, to the great Increase of the Holiness and Happiness of his Creatures.—And he had a Right to conduct according to his own Wisdom, and to do what he knew would best to be done. ^*

[Page 187] Object. ‘WELL, if God wills Sin, then it seems Sin is agreable to his Will. And if from all Eternity he decreed the Misery of his Creatures, then it seems, their Misery suits him. Besides, what is decreed must necessarily come to pass, and so our Freedom is destroyed. All which are contrary to Scripture, and to common Sense.’

Answ. "Well," says the idle deceitful Servant, who was catched at his Play, and suffered to take his own Course for an whole Hour,— ‘Well, Master, now I see you love I should be lazy, and play; for otherwise you would have hindred me. And now I see you love to whip me, for the Sake of Whipping; for otherwise you would not have suffered me to have deserved it. Besides, you decreed to permit me to play on, that whole Hour; and so I could not possibly help it.’—All which would not only be contrary to common Sense, but appear to savour of so great Perverseness, and be so very saucy and provoking, that his Master would not think it needful to give any particular Answer, but rather proper to punish him according to his Deserts.—For it must be plain to the Servant at the same Time, that Idleness and Deceitfulness were the Things his Master hated in him. And he must know, he acted freely and deserved the Whip: and that it became his Master to punish such a Villain, not only because he deserved it, but also that his other Servants might hear and fear, and do no more so wickedly.—Nothing can be plainer, than that the Jews acted freely in bringing about the Death of Christ. And it was one of the greatest Crimes that ever was committed. And yet it came to pass according to the divine Decree. Act. II. 23. & IV. 28. And [...] ever thought, because from all Eternity God decreed the Death of his Son, that therefore his Agonies on the Cross were pleasing to his Father, [Page 188] as one that loves to see others in Misery meerly for Misery's Sake.

Obj. ‘BUT yet,—Is it not a Pity, any are finally lost?—Would it not have been better, if all had been saved?’

Answ. IT would, no doubt, be better for their own Interest, if the Rebels in any earthly Kingdom would all come in, and submit: and they would in such a Conduct shew more Respect to their lawful Sovereign. On which Accounts their Sovereign may send and sincerely invite and command them to return and submit, altho' he knows, they will not, and is at the same Time determined to do no more, but upon their obstinate Refusal [as the best Thing that can be done] to make them Examples of his Wrath, in the Sight and for the Instruction of all his Dominions. Nor can any justly say, it is a Pity he did not take more Pains with them, or that it is a Pity he punished them at last. ^*

[Page 189]PHARAOH had shewn more Respect to God, and it had been more for his Interest, had he repented of his Oppressions, and without Delay yielded Obe­dience to the divine Command, and let Israel go. But no Man has Reason to think, it had been bet­ter if God had said or done more to make him obedient, or that it was a Pity, God punished him at last as he did. [It was the best Thing that could be done.]

MOSES had beheld all his Conduct. And Moses beheld the Punishment the ALMIGHTY inflicted on him and on his Army. And what did Moses think? Did he think, it was a Pity, that proud & haughty Mo­narch was so bro't down?—a Pity, the cruel Egyptians were thus drowned? Or did not the divine Conduct appear perfect in Wisdom, Glory and Beauty?—Now if none are finally lost, but those who deserve eternal Damnation, as really as Pharaoh and his Host did to perish in the Red-Sea; and whose eternal Dam­nation will turn as much to the Honour of God and general Good of God's chosen People, as did the Destruction of Pharaoh and his Host, and as much more as perfectly to answer to the greater Impor­tance of the Case; it is not at all strange if their eternal Damnation should appear in the Eyes of God, An­gels, [Page 190] and Saints thro' eternal Ages, in as beautiful and glorious a Light, as did the Destruction of Pharaoh and his Host, to Moses, when he compo­sed and sang that Song recorded in XVth. Chapter of Exodus.—The Egyptians thought it a Pity, their Monarch and his Army were lost. Yea, to them is appeared a dreadfully shocking Affair.—But Moses sang, The LORD hath triumphed GLORIOUSLY. And was exceedingly rejoiced, to see that he had thus shewn his Power, and laid a Foundation to have his Name declared throughout all the Earth.

AND thus will it appear to all the Inhabitants of Heaven, when Satan and all his Adherents lie over­whelmed in the Lake of Fire and Brimstone. And therefore the heavenly Hosts are represented in Scripture, as singing the Song of Moses; triumphing in the Destruction of Satan and his Adherents, as Moses did in the Destruction of Pharaoh and his Army! ( Rev. XV. 3.) And as repeating their HAL­LELUJAHS, exulting and rejoycing while they see the Smoke of their Torment ascending for ever and ever! ( Rev. XIX. 1,—6.)

NOR need it seem strange, that the Inhabitants of Heaven, who have so great a Respect to God, and are such hearty Friends to his Interest and to the Honour of his Government, should so entirely ac­quiesce in the righteous Punishment of his invete­rate, obstinate Enemies. If vindictive Wrath were nothing but groundless, arbitrary Vengeance, it would be quite another Thing: but as it is (in the Governor of the World) nothing but Love, to God, to Virtue, to the best Good of the System, bearing down in a wise and righteous Manner the Enemies of God, of Virtue, and of the System, it cannot but appear infinitely amiable in the Eyes of the Inhabi­tants [Page 191] of [...] ^* It is much more strange, that any who heartily acquiesce in the Gospel-Way of Salvation; should be stumbled at the final Punish­ment of the Wicked. It must be strange Partiality in us; indeed, to acquiesce in the Death of God's own son, when standing in the Room of Sinners, and yet to object against the Punishment of Sinners themselves. It argues either that we are very sel­fish, or else that we love the Son of God less than we do God's obstinate Enemies, to be content that he should bear the Curse of the Law, but loth that they should. The same Views which cause the Saints in Heaven to acquiesce in God's setting forth his own Son to be a Propitiation for Sin, to secure the Honour of the divine Justice, at the same Time Head their cordially to approve of the eternal Dam­nation of obstinate Sinners themselves.

BESIDES, to use the Apostle's own Words, who was inspired by him who has a perfect View of all Things, and knows what is best in so important a Case, (Rom. IX. 22.) What if God, willing to shew his Wrath, and make his Power known, endured with much Long-suffering the Vessels of Wrath fitted for Destruction? What if God, who doubtless is the fittest Judge, and to whom alone the Decision of this Affair belonged, what if God tho't it best to single out some of his apostate Creatures, some of his obstinate Enemies, [Page 192] who inveterately hate him and his Government, and Pharaoh-like, bid him Defiance; I say, What if God tho't it best to single out some of these, to be Examples of his Wrath, to be visible Monuments of his Justice and Power, that the whole System might eternally see how infinitely he hates Sin, and how easily he can subdue his Enemies, and what a fear­ful Thing it is to rise in Rebellion against him:—(Ver. 23.) and that he might make known the Riches of his Glory on the Vessels of Mercy, which he had a-fore prepared unto Glory: That, by the Means, he might set the infinite Freeness and Greatness of his Grace, exercised towards the Saved, in the most conspicuous Point of Light, who in their Destruction will eter­nally see what they deserved, and must certainly have endured, but for the dying Love of Christ, and sovereign Grace of God?—What if infinite Wis­dom has judged this the best Plan? Who is there among all finite Intelligences, that has Right or Rea­son to object?

Obj. ‘BUT if this Plan was really the best, Why do not Mankind now prefer it above all others, and heartily rejoice in it? Why so much Mur­muring around the World?’

Ans. IT was but about an hundred Miles from Egypt to Canaan, and in forty Days, conducted by ALMIGHTINESS, the Israelites might have marched from Egypt thither; and the Canaanites being all struck dead in one Night, as an hundred and eighty­five Thousand once were in the Assyrian Camp; (2 Kings. XIX. 35.) the Israelites might have taken immediate Possession, and spent their Days in Feast­ing and Joy. And had they been offered their Choice, no doubt they would have preferred this Scheme, before their forty Years March in the Wilderness; where the Lord led them thro' a Land of Desarts and of Pits, through a Land of Drought, [Page 193] and of the Shadow of Death, thro' a Land that no Man passed thro', and where no Man dwelt; and suffered them to hunger and to thirst, and for their Murmurings under their Trials, struck them dead by Hundreds and Thousands. For they generally cared only for their own present carnal Interest, Ease and Comfort. They had no Relish to those Things which God's Heart was chiefly set upon—Did not want to see God exalted, his Authority established, or to be trained up to a Life of entire Dependance on God, to have their Hearts humbled and broken, and be made to know that not for their Righteous­ness were they brought into that good Land; nor did they care any Thing about that Instruction which suc­ceeding Generations might obtain from their Trials, and from God's Conduct towards them those 40 Years in the Wilderness. And had Moses been able to open to their View the great & glorious Ends which were likely to be answered, they soon would have replied, ‘And what Good will it do us, if all the Earth is filled with his Glory, and if all these Ends are accomplished, and if it will be better for the Na­tion in the long Run? What Good will all this do us, so long as our Carcases fall here in the Wilderness? It had been better for us to have lived and died in Egypt. Yea, we had rather never have been born, than to undergo what we undergo, and die here at last.’ Nor had it been in the Power of Moses to have stopt their Mouths, un­less he could have changed their Hearts. Yea, not­withstanding all that God himself said to them, they continued murmuring in their Tents, till he was obliged to execute terrible Vengeance upon them. Fourteen Thousand and seven Hundred were struck dead at one Time. (Num. XVI. 49.) Now all these Things happened to them for our Examples, and they are written for our Admonition. (1 Cor. X. 11.)—It were better, [Page 194] therefore, if Mankind would leave murmuring at God's Ways, which are undoubtedly all Wise; whe­ther any Mortal in this present dark and imperfect State is able to shew the Wisdom of them, or not. If all that has been said, appears to have no Weight, and we give up God's Plan as being at present abso­lutely inexplicable; yet, from the infinite Wisdom of the Deity, it is capable of strict Demonstration, that of all possible Plans he has chose the [...]. Therefore, the Fault is not in him, but in us. That there were none to be blamed in the Case of the Israelites but themselves, we now can plainly see: so will it appear at the Day of Judgment, that God always did Right, and acted wisely. And then eve­ry Mouth will be stopt. And since we are certain, this will finally be the Case, it infinitely better be­comes us to cease our Murmurings, and learn to justify God, and take all the Blame to our selves: and as we are invited, so without Delay to cast away the Weapons of our Rebellion, return and submit to our rightful Sovereign, thro' Jesus Christ, now while Mercy is offered to us.

BUT if any haughty Sinner, Pharaoh-like, says, ‘Who is the Lord? I know not the Lord, nor care for his Authority; or Government, nor will I humble my self before him:’—let such a haugh­ty Wretch know, that the ALMIGHTY is above him, and can accomplish all his Schemes without his Consent. For having endured with all proper Long-suffering such impudent Sinners, he can shew his Wrath and make his Power known in their eternal Destruction, to the Honour of his Name, and to the eternal Instruction of the Saved.

As for those who leave the Honour of God, the infinitely great and glorious God, the Author, Pro­prietor and King of the whole System, absolutely out of the Account, as a Thing of no Importance, [Page 195] and what the Governor of the World is not at all concerned about, and imagine that the Good of God's Creatures and Subjects is the only Thing to be attended unto, in all the divine Conduct, as mo­ral Governor of the World;—as for such, I say, it is impossible to reconcile any Part of God's Plan to their fundamental Maxim. For if nothing was of Importance but the Creatures Good, why was not that solely attended to? Why were all put on Trial? And why eternal Destruction threatned for the first Offence? Or ever threatned at all? Or the sinning Angels expelled the heavenly World, and the human Race all doomed to Death for the first Transgression? And if our Good is all that God now has in View, why have not more Pains been taken for our Recovery, from Age to Age, from the Beginning of the World? Yea, why are not infi­nite Wisdom and almighty Power effectually exerted to render all eternally happy? For the Saved, if this Principle is true, will be eternally grieved to see any of their Fellow-Creatures for ever in Hell­Torments. Nor can the eternal Torments of the Damned answer any valuable End, on this Hypo­thesis.

STRANGE are the Positions, which the Chevalier RAMSEY has laid down in Order to reconcile the divine Conduct to this Notion. He maintains, that ‘God did not certainly know that his Creatures would fall—And if he had known it, he could not have hindered it, consistently with their free Agency—He has been trying ever since to re­claim them—Intends to continue in the Use of Means till he has reclaimed them all—The Tor­ments of Hell being the most powerful Means of Grace, are finally to be used, with such as can­not otherwise be reclaimed, merely out of pure Love to the Damned, to purify and bring them [Page 196] to a better Mind—So all at last shall be recovered and made for ever happy!’ ——But if God meant to use the most powerful Means with a fallen World he possibly could, and that in every Age, as upon that Hypothesis it must be supposed, Why did he send but one NOAH to the old World? Why not 2 or 3000? Why did he raise up but one MOSES, and but one ELIJAH, and send them only to the Israel­ites? Why did he not raise up Thousands in every Age and Nation under Heaven, and make thoro' Work? And why does he not take more Pains with us of this Age? Raise up Thousands as well qua­lified to preach as St. Paul? And pour out his Spirit on all Flesh, as he did on the 3000 on the Day of Pentecost?—If our Good was all he had in View, and he really intended to save us all, one would think he would now use the most powerful Means to reclaim us, and not stay till the Day of Judg­ment, and then doom us to Hell, in order to fit us for Heaven!—Besides, at that great Day, a guilty World will find, that Christ does not come to enter upon the Use of farther Means to recover the Wick­ed, but to give them their final Doom. Christ will not come to save a guilty World, but to judge them. Not cloathed with Love, but in flaming Fire. Not to do them Good, but to take Vengeance. (2 Thes. I. 8.) Not out of Love to them, but to shew his Wrath. (Rom. IX. 22.) Not to purify them, but to cast them, like worthless Chaff, into unquenchable Fire. (Matt. III. 12.) Not to fit them for, and finally to bring them to Heaven, with the good Wheat, but as Tares to burn them up. (Matt. XIII. 30.) Not aim­ing at their Good, as Vessels of Mercy, but aiming at their Destruction as Vessels of Wrath. (Rom. IX. 22.) Not to discipline them for a Season, but to punish them with everlasting Destruction. (2 Thes. I. 9.) Send them into everlasting Fire (Matt. XXV. 41.) into [Page 197] everlasting Punishment (Ver. 46.) where the Worm ne­ver dies, and the Fire is not quenched (Mar. IX. 44, 46, 48.) but the Smoke of their Torment shall ascend for ever and ever. (Rev. XIX. 3.)—And the Eternity of Hell-Torments will effectually convince the whole System, that God has an infinite Regard to some­thing else besides merely the Good of his Creatures; as it is meet and fit he should. (See Mal. I. 6,—14.) And this Part of his Conduct will help to compleat his Picture, and finish his true Character, in the Eyes of all Intelligences. As yet Mankind hardly believe him in earnest. Words do not answer the End. But Actions speak louder than Words, and will work a thoro' Conviction.

As for the common Plea, that ‘God needs no­thing from his Creatures, and so can only aim at their Good:’ It is a Way of Reasoning con­trary to the universal Sense of Mankind, in [...] Cases in any Measure analogous. The Father does not require Honour from his Son, merely because he needs it; but because he deserves it. The Master does not require Reverence from his Servant, merely because he needs it; but because he deserves it. And if the one should despise his Father, and the other treat his Master with Contempt, they would soon feel the Force of that Reasoning, in Mal. I. 6. A Son honoureth his Father, and a Servant his Master: If then I be a Father, where is mine Honour? And if I be a Master, where is my Fear? saith the Lord of Hosts. Ver. 8. And if ye offer the Blind for Sacrifice, is it not Evil? And if ye offer the Lame and Sick, is it not Evil? Offer it now unto thy Governor, will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy Person? saith the Lord of Hosts. Ver. 14. Cursed be the Deceiver, which hath in his Flock a Male, and voweth and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt Thing: For I am a GREAT KING, saith the Lord of Hosts.

[Page 198]NOR is there any Way to establish that Maxim, which yet lies at the Foundation of almost all the modern Schemes of Religion, but to prove, either that the Deity does not deserve supreme Honour, or that the moral Governor of the World is not just. For if he deserves it, he ought to have it. And it belongs to the moral Governor of the World to see Justice done, i. e. to see that every one has his due.

AND indeed it is the chief Happiness of the In­habitants of Heaven, to see God universally honour­ed, and each one to join to give him the Glory that is his due. They incessantly cry, Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts; the whole Earth is full of thy Glory. (Isai. VI. 3.) They fall down before the Throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their Crowns before the Throne, saying, Thou art worthy to re­ceive Glory, and Honour, and Power: for thou hast created all Things; and for thy Pleasure they are and were created. ( Rev. IV. 10, 11.)

IF the Honour of God is of infinite Importance in it self—then it is infinitely desirable for it self—and then to see God honoured and exalted, will be of all Things most happifying to holy Intelligences—And that Plan which is suited to this, will be the most happifying Plan—And there may be the greatest Degree of Happiness on such a Plan, and yet all Things be so contrived as that it may eternally appear in the most striking Light, that there was something God had an infinite Regard to, besides the Happiness of his Creatures—On this Hypo­thesis all the Parts of God's present Plan may be accounted for.

BUT if the Honour of God is of no Importance in it self—then it is not desirable for it self—nor will it be a happifying Sight, to see God exalted—nor that Plan that is suited to exalt God, a happi­fying [Page 199] Plan—yea, no good End can be answered by such a Plan—and so no Part of God's present Plan can be accounted for.

IF the Creature's Happiness is the only Thing of Worth—then infinite Wisdom and almighty Power should be employed only to promote it—and the everlasting Punishment of the Damned can answer no good End: as, on this Hypothesis, none can de­serve it, nor can God desire it, or any holy Being acquiesce in it, or receive any Instruction from it. ^*—And why God ever permitted Sin or Misery to enter into his World, will be absolutely unaccoun­table: as will every Step God has taken with fallen Intelligences ever since Satan's Apostacy. For why did not God instantly restore fallen Angels and fallen Man, and immediately confirm them, if their Welfare was the only Thing of Worth?

IN a Word I humbly conceive this Position, that the Welfare of Creatures is the only Thing of Worth, and the only Thing to be regarded by the moral Governour of the Universe, is one of the most groundless, irra­tional, unscriptural Positions, that ever was laid down; little, if any Thing short of, nay, worse than the grossest Absurdities practised by the Heathen. For what did they worse than worship and serve the Creature more than the Creator? ( Rom. I. 25.) But on this Hypothesis, the Creature alone is to be served; and God himself, the glorious Creator is to become his almighty Servant; and to be loved only and merely for his Faithfulness in the Creature's Service;—The Creature has taken the Throne, and the Creator is become his Servant—No Won­der, such a Scheme suits the Heart of fallen Crea­tures. And its being ever broached, OF ever re­ceived, in God's Dominions, by any of his Crea­tures, is a full Demonstration, that they are fallen [Page 200] indeed. Yea, not only fallen, but sunk into so great Degeneracy and Delusion, as to think, that God himself is fallen too, and quite turned to be of their Side.—And now they love him, and think all is well! Psalm. [...] Thou thoughtest I was altogether such a one as thy self.—

BUT it is Time to proceed, as was proposed,

III. To make some practical Improvement of the whole. And,

1. WHAT has been said may be of use to assist us to form right Ideas of God. The Law gives us a true Picture of the moral Perfections of the divine Nature. God is exactly what the Law speaks him to be.—Yet the Gospel sets his moral Per­fections in a still clearer Light: the Glory of God shines exceeding brightly in the Face of Jesus Christ.—But God's universal Plan comprehending Law and Gospel, and all God's Dispensations from the Foun­dations of the World to the final Consummation of all Things, sets his moral Character in the com­pleatest and most striking Point of Light; and puts us under vast Advantages, even in this present State, to make a swift Progress in the Knowledge of the Deity.—Indeed, had we that high Relish for di­vine Knowledge, that good Taste for divine Beauty, which they in Heaven have, our Proficiency might bear a great Resemblance to theirs.—But, Oh how stupid are we to divine Things! Having Eyes to see, and see not: Ears to hear, and hear not; nei­ther do we understand: Hearts of Stone, that have no Feeling. We are even as Beasts before him. So that while his Glory shines all around us, we are in profound Darkness.—O for the Influences of the blessed Spirit, to awaken our Attention to the Manifestations he makes of himself, and to give us a true Taste and Relish to the Beauty of divine Things! Then would our Hearts be enlarged, to [Page 201] love the Lord our God, and to fear him, and to walk in all his Ways, and to rejoice in the Wisdom of his universal Government. O for that blessed Day, when we shall receive the holy Spirit in a full and perfect Measure! Then shall we see no longer in this dark Manner, but as it were Face to Face. Shall in a Measure, at once, take in the Idea which God has exhibited of himself, and be ravished with the Wisdom, Glory and Beauty of his universal Plan.

2. WHAT has been said may be of use to assist us not only to form right Notions of all finite In­telligences, as being in their best Estate at an infinite Remove from Self-sufficiency and absolute Inde­pendence, the peculiar Prerogatives of him who alone is by Nature Immutable; but it may also be of special use to assist us to just Notions of the true Character of Mankind now in their fallen State. Facts are stubborn Things. The steady Conduct of Mankind, from the Fall to this Day, gives their true Character beyond Dispute. Only think what they ought to be, perfectly in Love with God, and full of Love to one another; and see what their Conduct has always been towards God, and to­wards one another.—Towards God, Ye do always resist the Holy Ghost [...] as your Fathers did, so do ye. Which of the Prophets have not your Fathers persecuted? And they have slain them which shewed before of the Com­ing of [...] ONE; of whom ye have been now the Betrayers and Murderers. ( Act. VII. 51, 52.)—To­wards one another. Living in Malice and Envy, hateful and hating one another. ( Tit. III. 3.)

[Page 202]AND so obstinate in their sinful Ways, that in Fact no external Means have ever been able to re­claim them. So alienated from God, that no Ar­guments can persuade them to be reconciled. So that notwithstanding all the outward Means which have been used, yet still the World is as it was. The Christian Nations very little better, if so good, as some Heathen have been. ( Mat. XII. 41.)

3. WHAT has been said may be of use to rea­lize to us the infinitely evil Nature and dreadful Consequences of Sin. Let us view the Lake of Fire and Brimstone, and sea what will be the [...] of the grand Rebellion. Bin has turned Angels into Devils, and banisht them from Heaven, and will confine them for ever to the burning Lake, with all their Adherents from this apostate World. Let us view God's Conduct towards Sin from the begin­ning of the World to the Consummation of all Things, and we may see how infinitely lie hates it, and how resolved he is to suppress in—Oh, how infinitely dreadful had both our Case in this fallen World, had a Saviour never been provided!

4. WHAT has been said tends to give us the sublimest Ideas of the divine Interposition on the Fall of Man, to defeat Satan's Designs, and bring infinite Good out of all the Evil that Satan intended.—O the Depth of the Knowledge, Wisdom and Grace of God! Glorious in Holiness, fearful in Praises, doing Wonders! This Theme is worthy of eternal Contemplation, and will appear new and fresh and ravishing thro' eternal Ages, to all the blessed Inhabitants of the upper World: Espe­cially, to the BRIDE, the LAMB'S WIFE. The Saved from among Men will have some Ideas and Joys quite peculiar to themselves, that even the Elect Angels will not intermeddle with: and sing a new Song, that none can learn, but those who were re­deemed from the Earth. ( Rev. XIV. 3.)

[Page 203]5. WHAT infinite Madness are the Sons of Men guilty of, that they can be inattentive to all this glo­rious Grace, go on secure in Sin, and persist in their Adherence to Satan's Interest, altho' they know that Satan and his Hosts, & all his Adherents, are destin'd to the Lake of Fire and Brimstone? ‘O poor, blind, infatuated Creatures! to adhere to Satan, our first Enemy, who so maliciously sought our total Ruin, deceived the happy Pair, and plunged all this World in Woe! to adhere to him when he still designs your Ruin! to be deaf to the kind Calls of the Son of God, who means to defeat Satan's Designs, and has died in the Cause, and now reigns in Heaven with the same Views, and invites us all to submit to his Government and trust in his Blood! And can you still go on in bold Defiance of almighty Vengeance? and make a Jest of eternal Burnings!’—Oh, how horrid the Thought! infinitely horrid the Thought, that so many of the human Race are daily imprecating Damnation upon themselves, calling upon God to damn their Souls to Hell! Poor Creatures, they lit­tle think what Damnation means! they little think what it is to fall into the Hands of the living God!—Who that loves God, or has any Compassion for immortal Souls, can think of the present blind and miserable State of a fallen World, and not long for the blessed Day, when Satan shall be bound, and the Messiah reign on Earth?

6. BUT let me conclude the whole with an Ad­dress to the spiritual Seed of Jacob.

As Jacob was in great Distress, when his Son's Coat, all besmeared with Blood, was brought into his Presence, and said, ‘Surely he is rent in Pieces, and I shall see him no more!’ and afterwards when Simeon was left in Egypt, Things looked darker still, ‘Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and [Page 204] now will ye take away Benjamin also! all these Things are against me!’ and yet in the End, he saw the Wisdom, Beauty and Glory of the whole Plan which God had laid: so shall it be here. How dark soever the present State of the World is, and how dark soever it has been for long Ages past, that it has hardly looked like God's World, but ra­ther like a World where Satan reigns; and how impossible soever it may seem, that all should issue well; yet we have the greatest Reason to believe it will, and to rejoice in the Prospect of that blessed Day.

FOR this is the very Plan which infinite Wisdom chose before all other possible Plans: the very Plan which God himself laid out—all the Parts laid out upon Design—every Thing adjusted by infinite Wisdom. The Whole, therefore, must be perfect in Wisdom, Glory and Beauty; and will appear so, when once it is finished.

LOOK through the lesser Parts of God's great and universal Plan, his Dispensations to Jacob and Joseph, to Moses and the Israelites of old; these, although once very dark, are [...] of Light, and easy to be understood. And it God's Works are wise and beautiful, so far as we can understand them, this ar­gues the whole are so. For doubtless all are of a Piece, the Author being the same, and always acting like himself.

BESIDES, notwithstanding the dreadful State of the World in our Day, and in all Ages past, there may be Time enough yet, before the Day of Judg­ment, for such great Events as may put quite a new Face upon the whole. Nor [...] we doubt the Accomplishment of these great Events, because they have been so long delayed. It is God's Way to promise, and make his People wait; but he was never known to disappoint their Expectations. To Adâm he said, The Seed of the Woman shall bruise the [Page 205] Serpent's Head. Adam lived above nine Hundred Years, and looked, and waited, and died. But it was above eleven Hundred Years after his Death before God even so much as mentioned his antient Promise. All his Posterity on Earth, eight only ex­cepted, destroyed, mean while, in the general De­luge. That some perhaps were ready to think, God had quite forgot his Promise.—Till in the Days of Abraham it was renewed.—Again they look, but still it does not come—but long dark Ages [...], and his People are put to wait about two Thousand Years more.—And then behold, it is come! the joyful Day is come! I bring you good [...] of great Joy, said the Angel, for this Day the Saviour is born!

I SEE not why the Predictions of the glorious Days are not as full and plain, as were the Predic­tions of the Messiah: nor why we may not as firmly believe the setting up of his Kingdom, as of old they believed his coming in the Flesh. It is certain, this is a great Objection of the Jews against our Jesus being the true Messiah, that the Things pro­phesied of the Messiah have never been fulfilled in him. That the Nations should beat their Swords into Plow-shares, and their Spears into Pruning-books, and learn War no more. And that there should be nothing to [...] nor offend; the Knowledge of the Lord filling the Earth as the Waters do the Seas. &c. &c. Nor do I see any possible Way to answer their Objection, but to say, These Things are still to be accomplished.

AND if they should be accomplished in all that GLORY, in which they are painted in the prophetic Descriptions, nothing hinders but that this Plan, of all possible Plans, may at last actually prove to be the best, in all Respects the best. Most for God's Glory, and most for the Good of the System too. [...] we are able to see, it seems, as if this must be the Case.

[Page 206]IT is Matter of the greatest Joy, that all the Affairs of the Universe are conducted by infinite Wisdom. It is an Honour that belongs to God, to govern the World which he has made; to go­vern his own World; to lay out and order the Affairs of his own Family.—We think, we have a Right to lay out Schemes for our own Families, and should take it ill if our Children or Servants should dispute our Right. Sovereign Monarchs in Time of War think they have a Right to lay out a Plan of Operation for an ensuing Campaign, and would take it ill if their Right should be disputed by a private Soldier. Much more has God a Right to lay out a universal Plan, for the Conduct of all Things in a World to which he has an original, underived, absolute Right; nor can he look upon the Worm that dares dispute his Right, but with infinite Contempt and Detestation.—And, O what Matter of infinite Joy it is, that he has taken this Work upon himself! Not left Things to the Devil's Controul, nor to be decided by the Lusts of an apostate World, nor left all Things to mere Chance; but himself in infinite Wisdom has laid out a universal Plan, a Plan perfect in Glory and Beauty.—No Mortal, that loves his Plan, will think of disputing his Right to lay it. And no Mortal, that loves God himself, that loves his Law, and loves his Gospel, can be an Enemy to his uni­versal Plan. For they all partake of the same Na­ture, and shine forth in the same Kind of Beauty, Holy, Just and Good.

O YE Seed of Jacob, Joseph is safe, and Benja­min is safe:—the Honour of God is safe, and the Good of the System is safe; all is in good Hands, and under the Conduct of infinite Wisdom. For the Counsel of the Lord shall stand, and he will do all his Pleasure. (Isai. XLVI. 10.) Wherefore set your [Page 207] Hearts at Rest. For let the State of the World and of the Church look ever so dark, you may safely trust in the Lord, and stay your selves upon your God, who is engaged in Honour to conduct all well. And for his GREAT NAME'S SAKE, he will not fail to do it. (See Ezek. XX.) You, therefore, may with the utmost Serenity leave the Government of the World with him, and put an implicit Faith in his Wisdom and Fidelity, and have nothing to do, but your Duty. Nothing, but to attend upon the Business he has marked out for you. Like a faithful Soldier in an Army, who trusts his General to conduct Affairs, while he devotes himself to mind the Business he is set about: And the more he rejoices in the Wisdom of his General, the more alert will he be in discharg­ing the Duties of a Soldier. Wherefore, Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, Rejoice.—Let this be your first Maxim, The Lord reigneth: and this your Practice, Let the Earth rejoice, (Psal. XCVII. 1.)

BUT it must be with an holy Joy. With such a Joy as results from a supreme Love to God, and Hatred of Sin, as an infinite Evil. With such a Joy as St. Paul describes, 1. Cor. XIII. 6. Charity rejoic­eth not in Iniquity, but in the Truth. For no other Joy will answer to the Nature of God's universal Plan, which is altogether suited to exalt the Deity, and set Sin in an infinitely odious Point of Light, and to cause Truth and Right universally to take Place.

THERE are some who say they are Jews, and are not, but are of the Synagogue of Satan; who say, they trust in the Lord, while at the same Time, the Name of God is blasphemed through their unrighteous and ungodly Lives. So once there was a mixt Multitude came out of Egypt, and joined in the general Joy at the Side of the Red-Sea, merely from selfish Views; But the Lord knew how to try them; and their Joy [...] long was turned to Murmuring. For their [Page 208] Hearts were not right with God: and their Car­cases fell in the Wilderness.

O YE Seed of Jacob, Trials, many Trials are yet to be expected, dark and gloomy Days, while the dawning Light of the glorious Morning comes gradually on. Get ready therefore for Trials. Be willing, that all Flesh should be brought low, and that the Lord alone should be exalted. (Isa. II. 17.) Seek Meekness, ye Meek of the Earth, for it may be, ye may be bid in the Day of the Lord's Anger. (Zeph. II. 3.) For, beheld, the Day cometh that shall burn as an Oven, and all the Proud, yea, all that do wickedly shall be Stubble; and the Day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave neither Root nor Branch: But unto you that fear my Name, shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in his Wings, (Mal. IV. 1, 2.) Many shall run to and fro, and Knowledge shall be increased, (Dan. XII. 4.) Many shall be purified and made white, and tried: but the Wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the Wicked shall understand, but the Wise shall understand. (Ver. 10.) Blessed is that Man, who shall overcome all Trials, and be true to the Messiah's Interest thro' all Changes, for he shall stand in his Lot at the End of the Days, in the general Assembly of the Just in Hea­ven. (Ver. 13.) Watch, therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all those Things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man. (Luk. XXI. 36.)

HUMILITY, Self-Diffidence, entire Dependence on God, the inward Source of constant Watchfulness and Prayer, perfectly become us,& are exactly suited to the State of Things in the intellectual System. Satan a glorious Arch-angel fell—Adam the Father of the human Race-fell—all Mankind now in a fallen State—the Powers of Darkness determined on our Ruin. No Room, therefore is left for Pride, Self-Confidence, Self-Dependence. Hell is our pro­per [Page 209] Due: and free Grace through Jesus Christ, our only Hope. Snares and Dangers are all around us. Watch and Pray, therefore, that ye enter not into Temp­tation.

GOD is the only Being by Nature immutably [...]. Were we Innocent, we might possibly fall; and God would be unobliged to hold us up. Now we are Sinners, now we are already, fallen Creatures, there is no Hope in our Case, but we shall totally and finally fall if left to ourselves, and as certainly perish as we now exist. And whither shall we look for Help? but to the only immutable Being. And how? but thro' the Merits and Mediation of Christ; being infinitely unworthy that God should hold us up. And yet our eternal Interest lies all at Stake.

‘O THOU FATHER of our Spirits, amidst ten Thousand Dangers, apostate, self-ruined, self­destroyed, helpless, Hell our Due, we look to Thee! O help us! O hold us up! O keep us by thy Power, thro' Faith unto Salvation; to the Glory of thy free Grace thro' Jesus Christ! Amen.’

NOW to him, who loved us and gave himself for us, to him be Glory, Honour and Praise, for ever and ever. AMEN.