of our fellow creatures are every year born into the world under such circumstances, as render it almost certain, that they will never hear of that name, which "Is music in the sinner's ears, And life, and health, and peace," and the mere possibility of whose salvation is reduced to the lowest conceivable degree. These, and a thousand other questions with respect to God's general providence, are all perfectly inexplicable. With respect to individual cases, we know not why the young are often cut off in the flower and vigour of their days, and the aged left to languish out life in decrepitude and sorrow; why the useful, the zealous, and the holy are swept away, and the worthless and injurious left to flourish. We know not why riches are often given to the avaricious, whilst many of a liberal and bountiful spirit have their hands tied up by poverty; why merit languishes in neglected solitude, and vanity and presumption gain the admiration of the world; why the innocent are often left to sink beneath unjust accusation and reproach, whilst the unjust triumph in falsehood and deceit. All these are secret things which belong exclusively to the Lord our God. We cannot understand them; they baffle our investigations, and confound our reason. Such are some of the difficulties which present themselves when we attempt to investigate the ways of God. Reason, however, if duly exercised, will suggest a variety of causes why they assume this mysterious character, and why we ought to suppress in ourselves the workings of unbelief, dissatisfaction, and despondency. "Marvel not, Ye righteous, if his dispensations here Directs the vast machine. His wisdom can 66 Much of the mystery which pervades the dispensations of providence arises from the feeble and limited character of our comprehension. When we consider the infinite understanding of the Divine Being, and the littleness of our own, is it a wonder that in many of his proceedings he should be far above out of our sight? The ways of God must necessarily, from the eminence of his perfections, be mysterious and incomprehensible to a finite intelligence, however vigorous and elevated. In proportion as our minds are filled with sublime conceptions of the grandeur of Jehovah, we shall feel our own inability to penetrate and comprehend his plans. It was by reflecting upon the majesty and glory of God, that Job exercised submission in his distresses. God," saith he, "stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing. He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds; and the cloud is not rent under them. He hath compassed the waters with bounds; the pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at his reproof. He divideth the sea with his power, and by his understanding he smiteth through the proud. By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens." "But these," adds the patriarch, "are only parts of his ways, and how little a portion is heard of them. " When we contemplate God by the light of revelation, our lofty imaginations are abased, our ignorance is exposed, and we see how impossible it is for creatures of the dust to perceive the wise reasons of his providence. The mind of a rustic peasant is not prepared to enter into the secrets of government, or to judge of the measures of the state. A child is incapable of comprehending the motives which induce his father to exercise the discipline and restraints by which he is to be prepared for future life. A person unaccustomed to abstract reasoning would be utterly incapable of understanding the principles on which the system of a Newton is founded. If this is the case with respect to two finite minds, one of which has only arrived at greater maturity than another, how much more disproportionate must be the plans of infinite wisdom to our narrow faculties. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. They are high as heaven, what canst thou know? deep as hell, what canst thou do? Canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?" The infinite superiority of the divine perfections, therefore, renders mystery unavoidable. He cannot, on account of his incomparable greatness and excellence, bring his plans and operations within the comprehension of his creatures. Viewing eternity in all its extent, having present to his mind all that is past, present, and future,-pursuing a plan which embraces not only time but eternity, which includes all men, and all variety of circumstances, he regulates his conduct by a scale which belongs only to him whose wisdom is unsearchable, and whose understanding is infinite. Surely every person must acknowledge with respect to these things, "such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it." As the general principles of the divine conduct are thus placed beyond our apprehension, so are the occasional motives of his dispensations. I allude to those motives which arise from his perfect acquaintance with the character of men, and his accurate perception of their real wants and true interests. The knowledge which we have of each other, and even of ourselves, is at all times limited and imperfect, and liable to error. We are often deceived by, and deceive each other ; but God is never deceived. While man looketh at the outward appearance, and can see no farther, God looketh at the heart. He trieth the reins of the children of men. He weighs their spirit and their works. He is consequently enabled to form the truest estimate of their character, and to regulate his designs towards them by the perfect rules of equity and wisdom. He knows their inward corruptions, their peculiar weaknesses and infirmities, their besetting sins, the temptations by which they are more especially endangered; no wonder, therefore, that a plan which is regulated by a knowledge so intimate and perfect, should frequently, to our limited and erring judgment, appear perplexed and inexplicable; or that in his dispensation towards others, God should sometimes shew severity where we anticipate sympathy and indulgence, and confer marks of special favour where we expect the displays of his wrath. Nor is it less difficult to determine in our own case what makes for us, or what against us. Solomon, that sagacious observer of human nature, has justly said, "no man knows what is good or evil for him by all that is before him." How fully is this demonstrated by constant experience. No one can say, with respect to any particular incident of his life, that this is a blessing, or that a curse, till he hath seen its conclusion. You meet with an affliction, you deem it an evil, but it ultimately proves a blessing. You meet with a gratification, you call it a blessing, but it proves the occasion of a long train of calamities. We are in a thousand cases so unacquainted with the operations, tendencies, and results of things, that we know not what will prove beneficial or what injurious; or what effect untried things will have either upon our mind, or our condition; or what influence present events may have upon our future destiny. The life of every man is a continued chain of incidents, each link of which hangs upon the former. The transition from cause to effect is often carried on by secret steps, which our foresight cannot divine, and which our sagacity is unable to trace. Evil may at some future time bring forth good, and good may bring forth evil. Every period of our life is opening some new page, the contents of which no human penetration can determine; nor is there a single event that may take place of which we can foresee all the consequences. What miseries did Lot entail upon himself in choosing the vale of Sodom, "because it was well watered every where as the garden of the Lord." The first time we hear of him afterwards, he is carried away captive by the five kings; then his righteous soul is vexed by the filthy conversation of the wicked; then he is burned out of Sodom with the loss of all his substance; then he is compelled to mourn over the death of his wife, turned for her disobedience into a pillar of salt; and finally, he falls into sins by which he incurred a reproach and a blot that shall not be wiped away. On the other hand, Ruth was deprived of her husband, and was reduced in consequence to the lowliness of a gleaner; but her poverty led to her interview with Boaz, in the field, and to her becoming the ancestor of the Messiah. The case of Joseph is still more impressive. He was sold into slavery by the treachery of his brethren; but from the pit and the prison arose the incidents which made him the ruler of Egypt, and the saviour of his father's house. The moral defection of our nature also renders us incapable of discerning the ways of providence. We are disposed to regard our present ease and indulgence more than our spiritual and future advantage. Exposed to the influence of prejudice, temerity, impatience, and corruption, these are so many obstructions to clear perception and right judgment. We are prone to measure the equity and expedience of things according to our feelings, and to make them the rule by which the divine dispensations ought to be governed; to regard God as the executioner of our purposes and designs, and to consider him as being such an one as ourselves. For example, do we suffer inconvenience? are our designs defeated by some untoward event? we suffer it to occupy and absorb |