he does not give over his care of them, and throw all things into confufion and ruin: this plainly fhews, that he defigns this life for the trial of mens virtue and obedience, in order to the greater reward of it; and therefore be fuffers men to walk in their own ways, without any great check and controul, and referves the main bulk of rewards and punishments for another world: fo that all this is fo far from being any objection against the goodness of God, that, on the contrary, it is an argument of God's immenfe goodness, and infinite patience, that the world fubfifts and continues, and that he permits men to take their courfe, for the fuller trial of them, and the clearer and more effectual declaration of his juftice, in the rewards and punishments of another life.

4 and lastly, The goodness of God to mankind moft gloriously appears, in the provifion he hath made · for our eternal happiness. What the happinefs of man fhould have been, had he continued in innocency, is not particularly revealed to us; but this is certain, that by wilful tranfgreffions we have forfeited all that happinefs which our natures are capable of. In this lapfed and ruinous condition of mankind, the goodness and mercy of God was pleafed to employ his wifdom for our recovery, and to restore us not only to a new but a greater capacity of glory and happiness. And, in order to this, the Son of God affumes our nature for the recovery and redemption of man; and the pardon of fin is purchased for us by his blood; eternal life, and the way to it, are clearly difcovered to us. God is pleafed to enter into a new and better covenant with us, and to afford us inward grace and affiftance, to enable us to perform the conditions of it, and graciously to accept of our faith and repentance, of our fincere refolutions and endeavours of holiness and obedience, for perfect and compleat righteousness, for his fake who fulfilled all righteoufnefs.

This is the great and amazing goodness of God to mankind, that when we were in open rebellion against him, he fhould entertain thoughts of peace and reconciliation; and when he paffed by the fallen angels, he fhould fet his affection and love upon the finful and mi

ferable

ferable fons of men. And herein is the love of God to men perfected, that as he hath made all creatures, both above us, and below us, fubfervient and inftrumental to our fubfiftence and prefervation; fo, for the ranfom of our fouls from eternal ruin and mifery, he hath not Spared his own Son, but hath given him up to death for us; him, whom he hath commanded all the angels of God to worship, and to whom he hath made fubject all creatures in heaven and earth; him, who made the world, and who upholds all things by the word of his power, who is the brightness of his glory, and the exprefs image of his perfon.

And after fuch a ftupendous inftance as this, what may we not reafonably hope for, and promife ourselves from the divine goodnefs? So the Apostle hath taught us to reafon; Rom. viii. 32. He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how fhall he not with him alfo freely give us all things?

"S E R RMO N

The goodness of God.

PSAL. CXIV. 9.

CXLV.

The Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies are over

I

all his works.

The third fermon on this text.

N handling this argument, I proceeded in this method:

First, To confider what is the proper notion of goodness.

Secondly, To fhew that this perfection of goodness belongs to God.

Thirdly, I confidered the effects of the divine goodnefs, under these heads:

I. The univerfal extent of it, in the number, variety, order, end, and defign of the things created by him; and his prefervation, and providing for the welfare and happiness of them.

II. I confidered more particularly the goodness of God to mankind, of which I gave thefe four inftances:

1. That he hath given us fuch noble beings, and placed us in fo high a rank and order of his crea

tures.

2. In that he hath made and ordained fo many things chiefly for us.

3. In that he exercifeth fo peculiar a providence over us above the reft, that though he is faid to be good to all, he is only faid to love the fons of men.

4. In that he hath provided for us eternal life and happiness. There only now remains the

Fourth and laft particular to be spoken to, which was, To answer fome objections which may feem to contradict, and bring in queftion the goodness of God; and they are many, and have, fome of them efpecially, great difficulty in them; and therefore it will require great confideration and care, to give a clear and latiffactory answer to them, which undoubtedly they are capable of; the goodness of God being one of the most certain and unquestionable truths in the world. I fhall mention those which are most confiderable and obvious, and do almost of themselves fpring up in every man's mind; and they are thefe four; the first of them more general, the other three more particular.

ift, If God be fo exceeding good, whence comes it to pafs that there is fo much evil in the world, of feve ral kinds; evil of imperfection, evil of affliction or fuffering, and (which is the greatest of all others, and indeed the cause of them) evil of fin?

2dly, The doctrine of abfolute reprobation; by which is meant, the decreeing of the greatest part of mankind to eternal mifery and torment, without any confideration or refpect to their fin or fault: this feems notorioufly to contradict, not only the notion of infinite goodness, but any competent measure and degree of goodness.

3dly, The eternal mifery and punishment of men for temporal faults, feems hard to be reconciled with that excefs of goodness which we fuppofe to be in God.

4thly, The inftances of God's great severity to mankind, upon occafion, in those great calamities, which, by the providence of God, hath, in feveral ages, either befallen mankind in general, or particular nations: and here I fhall confine myself to fcripture-inftances, as being the most certain and remarkable, or at least equal to any that are to be met with in history; as the early and univerfal degeneracy of mankind, by the fin and tranfgreffion of our first parents; the deftruction of the world by a general deluge; the fudden and terrible deftruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them, by fire and brimstone from heaven; the cruel extirpation of the Canaanites, by the exprefs command of God; and, laftly, the great calamities which befel the Jewish nation, and the final ruin and perdition of them at the deftruction of Jerufalem.

Thefe are the objections against the goodness of God, which I fhall feverally confider, and, with all the brevity and clearness I can, endeavour to return a particular anfwer to them.

The Firf objection, which I told you is more general, is this; If God be so exceeding good, whence then comes it to pass, that there is fo much evil in the world of feveral kinds? It is evident, beyond denial, that evil abounds in the world: The whole world lies in Avil, ev The Tempe xeitas, lies in the wickedness, (fo our tranflation renders it) is involved in fin; but, by the article and oppofition, St. John feems to intend the devil: We know, fays he, that we are of God, and the whole world, ἐν τῷ πονηρῷ κεῖται, is fubject to the e vil one, and under his power and dominion. Which way foever we render it, it fignifies, that evil of one kind or other reigns in the world. Now, can evil come from a good God? Out of the fame mouth proceedeth blefing and curfing. Doth a fountain fend forth at the fame place fweet water and bitter? This cannot be, cas James fpeaks in another cafe. But all evils that are in in the world, muft either be directly procured by the divine providence, or permitted to happen; and next

to

to the caufing and procuring of evil, it seems to be contrary to the goodness of God, to permit that there fhould be any fuch thing, when it is in his power to. help and hinder it.

Anf. To give an account of this: It was an antient doctrine of fome of the most antient nations, that there were two firft caufes or principles of all things, the one of good things, the other of bad; which, among the Perfians, were called Oromafdes and Arimanius; among the Egyptians, Ofiris and Typhon; among the Chaldeans, good or bad planets; among the Greeks, Zeus and "Ads. Plutarch exprefly fays, that the good principle was called God, and the bad, Demon, or the Devil: in conformity to which antient traditions, the Manichees, a fad fect of Chriftians, fet up two principles, the one infinitely good, which they fuppofed to be the original caufe of all good that is in the world; the other infinitely evil, to which they afcribed all the evils that are in the world.

But, befides that the notion of an infinite evil is a contradiction, it would be to no purpose, to fuppofe two oppofite principles of equal power and force. That the very notion of an infinite evil is a contradiction, will be very clear, if we confider, that what is infinitely evil, must be infinitely imperfect, and confequently infinitely weak; and, for that reafon, though never fo mifchievous and malicious, yet being infinitely weak, and ignorant, and foolish, would neither be in a capacity to contrive mischief, nor to execute it. But, admit that a being infinitely mischievous were infinitely cunning, and infinitely powerful, yet it could do no evil; because the oppofite principle of infinite goodness, being alfo infinitely wife and powerful, they would tie up one another's hands: fo that, upon this fuppofition, the notion of a deity would fignify juft nothing; and, by virtue of the eternal oppofition and equality of thefe two principles, they would keep one another at a perpetual bay; and, being an equal match for one another, inftead of being two deities, they would be two idols, able to do neither good nor evil.

But, to return a more distinct and fatisfactory anfwer to this objection, there are three forts of evil in the