apprehend the general and unconditional observation, that whatever happens in this world is right, should always be understood in a qualified sense; since a great part of the occurrences, and many, very many, of the events which prevail in it, are so far from proceeding from the will of God, that, though they are allowed to come to pass, they are utterly against his will, and only proceed from the depraved will of man. For God having given to man great power and dominion in this world, and having constituted free will and free agency so absolutely essential to his character, that it cannot be severed from it whilst man is man, an immense power to act right or wrong necessarily devolves on, and is naturally attached to, man, especially to princes and potentates. Now if one of these princes abuses the power entrusted to him, and, when God has ordered him to love mercy, he commits murder wantonly and unnecessarily, it is perfectly absurd to assert, that whatever is is right in this sense; on the contrary, the commission of this murder cannot be otherwise, either in the judgment of God or man, than extremely wrong; at the same time that it is perfectly right the prince in question should

possess the power of committing the murder, though he abuses it.

The reason and conscience of man is unquestionably sufficient for a wise and prudent conduct in all temporal matters, and is most probably so considered by the Almighty; therefore in matters of a temporal nature he probably much seldomer overrules the free will and free agency of man than is generally imagined. But the case is otherwise, I apprehend, in spiritual matters; because the conduct of all nations who are ignorant of revealed religion proves, by their superstitions and idolatries, that the reason of man is inadequate to a just knowledge of them; and accordingly, as in the establishment of the Gospel, the will of God was demonstrably seen to prevail over the will of man. Thus though God has made man a free agent, he does not divest himself of the power of controlling that free agency when he pleases, but probably he rarely overrules it, except when its culpable exertion would deface or tarnish the beauty of his intellectual system, or would in any material way interfere with the accomplishment of his own great and glorious designs. We should consider, that, prior to all action, there is will

and intention: now it is impossible to conceive there can be any evil will in God, any evil design towards his own offspring, towards his creature man, any that has not for its object either the present or future good of man; but with man this matter is entirely different; for we know to a certainty that, to gratify revenge, and other criminal passions, he often meditates evil, for the accomplishment of the most cruel and evil ends that can be imagined. We ought therefore, agreeably to the principles of reason, to ascribe all the misery which proceeds from cruelty, oppression, tyranny, injustice, wars begun and prosecuted on ambitious and worldly principles, not to God, but to man's disobedience to those laws, and that career of conduct, which it ever was, and ever will be, his duty to perform; and whoever suffers his mind to entertain any other opinion, in the highest degree dishonours his Maker, who delights to see his creatures enjoy that rational happiness, which every man in this life may do if he pleases, and which nothing prevents his doing but a flagrant and senseless abuse of his free will and free agency, by voluntarily departing from the suggestions of his reason and conscience, and the declared laws and com

mandments of his Creator. Now unless we advert to the discrimination here recommended, and make a distinction in our minds between such blessed occurrences in this life as we have reason to believe flow from the will and goodness of God, and such evil ones as we have the same reason to believe are caused by the corrupt will of man, and in consequence adopt the opinion of the Poet,

Of every evil since the world began,

The real source is not in God, but man,

we shall never entertain in our minds clear and distinct ideas of the mercy and goodness of God, in his government of the world, nor shall we be able properly to appreciate or feel in our hearts the force of this fine passage in the prophecy of Jeremiah; "Let not the wise "man glory in his wisdom, neither let the

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mighty man glory in his might; let not the "rich man glory in his riches: but let him "that glorieth glory in this, that he under"standeth and knoweth me, that I am the

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Lord, which exercise lovingkindness, judg"ment, and righteousness in the earth; for "in these things I delight, saith the Lord.'

"

There is nothing in the intellectual system of God, as it respects the human species,

which more requires the serious, solemn, and exclusive attention of man, than this consideration, that the conduct of God to man is entirely regulated by man's conduct to him; an idea agreeable to reason, confirmed by Scripture, and on the due observation of which man's true and genuine happiness here, and his eternal happiness hereafter, depends. It is absurd in the highest degree to suppose otherwise than that God is every where present, because the mind of man cannot imagine any place where God is not; "Thou "art about my path, and about my bed, and spiest out all my ways. Whither shall I go, then, from thy spirit? or whither shall

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go from thy presence? If I climb up "into heaven, thou art there: if I go down "to hell, thou art there also." It is equally absurd to suppose otherwise, but that the omniscience of God must necessarily know and observe the thoughts and intentions, in short, the whole conduct of every man; "He that "formed the eye, shall he not see? he that "formed the ear, shall he not hear? or he "that gave man understanding, shall he not "know?" It is as senseless to imagine otherwise, but that from this observation God should very materially regulate his conduct