SERM. of the laws of virtue, and the reason of XIII. things?

Of that kind plainly is affliction, which may be not only innocently endured, but righteoufly inflicted by him who has both abfolute dominion to appoint our punishment, and infinite power, wifdom, justice and goodness, to proportion it to our of fence. Men may be fometimes immediate inftruments to execute his judgments; and they may do it with fuch mixtures of malice and ill-will, as cannot but be highly criminal, and render them guilty before God This then is entirely their fin and wickedness, and no way to be attributed or afcribed to their Creator. But the event itself is properly his will and doing, and, however unjuft it may fometimes be in refpect of the immediate Agent, yet it cannot but be highly just and equitable in refpect of him who is Lord over all, and who has right to difpofe of the whole creation. at his pleasure.

Nay, fometimes the event is fo plainly contrary to the defign of the immediate Agents, that one would think the most stupid obfervers fhould take notice of the interpofition of Divine Providence, and acknowledge God to be the Author of that good which utterly defeats their evil and malicious purposes. This was really the cafe between Jofeph and his brethren, as him

felf

felf has ftated it upon another occafion. SER M. As for you (fays he) ye thought evil against XIII. me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pafs as it is this day, to fave much people alive*. The malice ftill was their own, and for that they were accountable. Only, in the present furprize, Jofeph chose not to aggravate the circumftances of their guilt, but to turn their thoughts rather to a profpect more agreeable, namely, that great advantage to which, by the counfels of Divine wisdom, it was made fubfervient. Again,

Secondly, Another inftance of this kind is that in 2 Sam. xii. 11, 12. where we read, that, after David had been guilty of that' abominable wickedness in the case of Uriah, God fent the Prophet Nathan to him with these words; Behold, I will raife up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour.

-Thou

didft it fecretly, but I will do this thing before all Ifrael, and before the fun. Which was afterwards fulfilled in Abfalom, who, by the advice of Abithophel, went in unto his father's concubines, in the fight of all Ifrael, as we have it in 2 Sam. xvi. 20, &c.

And here the fame reflection may be ufe. fully applied, which was mentioned upon the former inftance, that the event, fo far * Gen. 1. 20.

SERM. as it was a punishment to David, may be XIII. referred to God, and reckoned a judicial → act of Providence; but the lewdnefs and malice of the heart of Abfalom was properly his own, and fo far only to be afcribed to God, as he permitted it, and thought not fit to reftrain it by so forcible an impulse, as is inconfiftent with the condition of rational and free Agents, and would destroy their liberty of choice and action.

Thirdly, The laft inftance I would mention of this kind, is that of Job, who, when he had heard that the Sabeans had taken away his oxen and his affes; that fire from heaven had burned up his sheep; that the Chaldeans had taken away his camels; and, which was worst of all, that the wind, by blowing down a house, had flain all his children, and that, out of every one of these fad difafters, there had efcaped but one fingle perfon to relate his ftory: (when, I fay, Job had heard all these meffages related severally) he rent his mantle, and expreffed himself in these terms, The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away *. In which expreffion he feems to impute all these injuries to God, as done by him. Which will be farther ftrengthened, when it is confidered, that the facred Text affures us, that God gave Satan a commiffion to * Job i. 21.

destroy

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destroy and spoil all that he poffeffed, his SER M. life only excepted. XIII.

The answer to this will be in part the fame which has been already fuggefted with relation to fome other inftances, namely, that our lives and fortunes are in the hand of God, who is the Supream Proprietor and Lord of all, and may therefore demand them back from us, when, and in what manner, his infinite wifdom shall fee moft convenient. When therefore he is pleased to command any of his creatures, as his inftruments in this matter, their actions are warranted by his unlimited authority, and the procedure must be just and reasonable. But, when they act of their own heads, without commiffion from him, to gratify their malice and revenge, they are indeed accountable for the evil of their purposes; yet ftill, as their actions are under the government of Providence, and directed to accomplish the ends of infinite and unerring wisdom, the fufferer fhould receive them as matter of Divine difpenfation, and confefs it the prerogative of God alone, both to give and take away.

This plainly was the cafe of Job, with respect to the Chaldeans and Sabeans, who did him injuries wholly undeferved from them, and without any Divine commiffion, by the inftigation of Satan, and the malice of their own hearts: their actions being nevertheless

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SERM.vertheless all the while directed by the fuXIII. perior hand of Providence, to humble and confirm the faith of Job, and set him forth

as an illuftrious pattern of patience and integrity.

And, though the Devil had a fort of commiffion to torture and afflict him, yet it was not fuch as carried a commanding authority, but a permiffion rather to execute his rage and malice, in order to filence that calumny and flander against Job, that hẹ ferved God merely for the fake of fecular advantages. But, what the Devil wickedly intended to feduce and pervert him, was improved by Divine Providence to a much better purpose, and, in refpect of that fuperior hand which guided every dispensation, the obfervation was most just and pertinent, and included not any imputation of fin, that it was the Lord who both gave and took away. So that here, the remark of the facred Penman is very confiderable, that in all this Job finned not, nor charged God foolishly. And now, from the exceptions taken from thofe paffages which attribute to God that evil in which men were the immediate Agents, proceed we in the

(IV.) FOURTH place to thofe, whereby God feems to be represented as Author of the inward principle of vice or naughtiness of heart. Of these the

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First