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those who are not, but all deserved to perish: they who are left, deserve their doom, as it will appear" in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment "of God;" and they who are saved, are saved by mercy and grace, in all respects undeserved, and contrary to their deservings.

P. cclviii. Note. 1. 12. If a law, &c.'* This passage shows, very perspicuously, the difference between that arbitrary capricious tyranny, which we abhor to think of, in connexion with the divine sovereignty; but which we are, most unjustly, supposed to maintain; and that just and equitable sovereignty, which we ascribe to God; except, that no example from human affairs, can give an adequate view of the perfection of all the decrees and dispensations of JEHOVAH.

P. cclix. 1. 1. God, &c.'t Almighty power, if it could possibly exist apart from justice, wisdom, truth, and love, would be as dreadful and odious, as the divine character is adorable and lovely: but how could God have a right, founded on the uncontrollable will of 'the Creator, over his creatures;' to adopt a conduct, 'concerning which there can reasonably be a question, whether it would be consistent with infinite justice, ⚫ and infinite mercy?' "The LORD is righteous in all

If a law be made, that death shall be the consequence of the commis⚫sion of any particular crime-(theft, for example) is not a man who steals, 'as much sentenced to the punishment of death, by a decree promulgated ⚫ by absolute authority, as a slave condemned to die by the order of his 'master, without having done any thing worthy of death? The slave had no means of escaping death. The thief, if he had not stolen, would not bave 'been punished by the law. In one case, the death of the man proceeds <from the will of a capricious tyrant; in the other, from the transgression ' of a known law; but this law originated in the will of the Sovereign.'

† 'God might have acted in this manner, had his only attribute been that ⚫ of almighty power. But the question is, whether such a conduct would have been consistent with infinite justice and infinite mercy, which every 'christian acknowledges to be attributes of the Deity."

his ways, and holy in all his works." "Clouds and "darkness are round about him; righteousness and "judgment are the basis of his throne."* Many absolute princes indeed, have taken the liberty, and claimed the privilege, of being unjust: yet no power can give a right to do what is wrong: but our mighty Sovereign "cannot lie," "he cannot deny himself." Indeed, the word right, is wholly improper for the subject. "He "doeth according to his will, in the army of heaven, " and among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can "stay his hand, or say to him, What doest thou?" But "the King's power loveth judgment:" and it is unmeaning to speak of a right to do, what it is impos sible should ever be done.

P. cclix. 1. 7. 'Could, &c.' If God had made man, as he now is, this reasoning might be admitted: but if "God made man in his own image," and pronounced him "very good:" and if he by wilful apostacy and rebellion became very wicked, even so as to resemble the devil, in all the grand outlines of his character: and if one generation after another wilfully repeats and perpetuates the original rebellion; the whole of it falls to the ground. The doctrine of the fall, and of original sin, (one main subject of the first chapter,) is completely lost sight of in this argument: and, by a similar method of arguing, if we should speak of fallen angels as the creatures of God, and leave the reader to suppose that he made them what they now are, without taking in the consideration of their wilful apostacy; something very plausible might be adduced either against the deal

• Ps. xcvii. 2. Mēkon, or mākon from Cun to establish, to prepare. t 'Could a just and merciful God endow men with the admirable faculties of perception and reason, place them in a transitory world abounding with enjoyments and temptations, and, by an arbitrary and irreversible decree, ⚫ deny them the means of escaping everlasting torment in a life to come?',

ings of God with them; or against the scriptural doc. trine concerning them. If it would not have been consistent with all the divine perfections, to have left the whole of the fallen human race, without a Redeemer, or the means of escaping,' "the wrath to come:" then, it must be repeated, the whole plan of redemption, and all its component parts, concerning which the sacred writers speak almost in rapturous language, of "the praise of the glory of his grace, of love that pas"seth knowledge," of "the riches of his glory, &c," was in fact nothing more, than a provision due to us, which could not have been honourably withheld. "The "ministration of condemnation is glorious;" though the "ministration of righteousness," and "of the "Spirit, exceeds in glory." There would indeed, ́in our case, have been no display of pardoning mercy and saving grace, any more than there is, in the Lord's dispensations towards fallen angels: and had he not, either in the case of fallen man, or in some other instance, displayed this glorious and endearing attribute; it might have been supposed, that the perfection of his justice and holiness, excluded the possibility of showing mercy to rebels and enemies. This is then the grand display of the divine glory in the gospel, "a just God and a "Saviour:" but this glory implies, that he might consistently have withheld, what he now imparts" to the

praise of the glory of his grace:" or he might have selected other objects, for the display of his glorious mercy and grace; and have glorified his justice in punishing men, according to their deservings. The word arbitrary here again occurs: and again, language is used, which either implies, that the conduct of God, in leaving any of our race, without the means of salvation, cannot be justified; or that the most ignorant heathens may be saved by the light of nature, without the gos

pel; directly contrary to the eighteenth article of our church.

P. cclix. 1. 27. "If any, &c.'* The appearance of inconsistency may be owing to our partial or prejudiced minds; or our scanty information, or our mistaken notions. Nothing can be true, as to the divine appointments, which is really inconsistent with the moral perfections of God: but almost every part of revealed truth appears to numbers, inconsistent with them; some, to one description of men, and some to another. "The "preaching of the cross is foolishness to them that "perish." Some argue against the history of the creation, and the fall of man; others against the dealings of God, with the Egyptians, Canaanites, Amalekites, &c: others contend in like manner against the future and eternal punishment of the wicked: others against the mystery of the Trinity, the Diety of Christ, the atonement, regeneration, justification by faith, and salvation by grace; but all under the supposition, that the doctrine, or dispensation, against which they contend, appears inconsistent with the divine perfections, or with some of them. But is this reasoning conclusive? Man is a /child, an ignorant, erring creature; he mistakes appearances for realities, in every thing. Man is a sinner, a party concerned, under the dominion of self-love; and, as a criminal, in self vindication, must be tempted to think, that the dreadful sentence of the Judge, appears too rigorous, or even unjust. Who is there among us, that has lived many years in the world; and not seen through the delusive appearances which once imposed on him? We have still our prejudices, undiscovered by us; for if we once discovered them, they would cease to

If any inconsistency with these perfections appears in any proposed * system, we need not hesitate to pronounce the system false and groundless'

be our prejudices. "To the law and to the testimony:" he who refuses to believe the express and plain testimony of God, because to his partial and purblind reason, it appears inconsistent with some divine perfection; believes in his own reasonings, and not in the word of God; and refuses to believe God, if his own understanding will not vouch for the truth of what he says. And the less he hesitates to pronounce the doctrine, or sys'tem,' which he cannot prove to be unscriptural, 'false, ' and groundless;' the less of the humility and docility of a little child is manifested.

P. cclx. 1. 2. The known, &c.'* The attributes of God, however made known, are not exclusively our guides, in these disquisitions: for his express declarations also must be attended to; concerning what he has done, and what he will do: and concerning the motives and objects of his decrees and dispensations. dispensations. "The "Lord made all things for himself; yea, even the wick"ed for the day of evil."+ "That in the ages to come,

'The known attributes of God, collectively taken, as they are declared in Scripture, and manifested in the works of Creation, can alone guide us to truth, in our disquisitions concerning his designs in the formation of Iman; and the exclusive consideration of a single attribute, has been the ' common source of difference of opinion among the learned upon this interesting subject, Divines seem to argue concerning the Deity, from what they observe to take place among men. It is indeed true, that we too ' often see those, whose lot it is to govern their fellow-creatures, exercise their power in utter contempt of every principle of justice and mercy: * others we see studious only to act according to the rigid rules of justice, ⚫ without attending to the calls of mercy: a few we may see yielding to the 'momentary impulse of compassion, without regarding the claims of justice: and even the wisest and most conscientious of men are frequently at a loss 'to devise the means of acting in strict conformity both to the essential • laws of justice, and to the milder dictates of mercy. All this necessarily belongs to the nature of a frail and imperfect being; but the Deity, whose ways are not as men's ways, is entirely free from every defect and limitation of this kind. With Him there is no opposition, no clashing, no diffi. 'culty. His dispensations are the result of the concurrent operation of his 'perfect attributes.'

† Prov. xvi. 4.