SERMON ging the train of events in such a manner, XIV. that the unruly passions of the wicked shall contribute to overthrow their own designs. History abounds with examples of their being rendered the unconscious ministers of Providence, to accomplish purposes directly opposite to those which they had in view. Thus the cruelty. of the sons of Jacob, in pursuing the destruction of their brother Joseph, became the means of effecting his high advancement. Thus the wrath of Pharaoh against the Israelites, and his unjust attempts to detain them in bondage, proved the occasion of bringing them forth from the land of slavery, with signal marks of the favour of Heaven. Thus the inhuman plan which Haman had formed for ruining Mordecai, and extirpating the whole Jewish nation, paved the way for Mordecai's high promotion, and for the triumph of the Jews over all their enemies. -After this manner the Almighty snareth the wicked in the works of their hands; and erects his own council upon the ruin of theirs. Those events which, viewed apart, appear as spots in the Divine administration, when Inter XIV. when considered in connexion with all SERMON their consequences, are often found to give it additional lustre. The beauty and magnificence of the universe are much heightened by its being an extensive and complicated system; in which a variety of springs are made to play, and a multitude of different movements are, with most admirable art, regulated and kept in order. fering interests, and jarring passions, are in such manner balanced against one another; such proper checks are placed on the violence of human pursuits; and the wrath of man is made so to hold his course, that how opposite soever the several motions seem to be, yet they concur and meet at last in one direction. While, among the multitudes that dwell on the face of the earth, some are submissive to the Divine authority; some rise up in rebellion against it; others, absorbed in their pleasures and pursuits, are totally inattentive to it; they are all so moved by an imperceptible influence from above, that the zeal of the dutiful, the wrath of the rebellious, and the indifference of the careless, contribute finally to the glory of God. All are governed in such a way SERMON XIV. way as suits their powers, and is consistent with rational freedom; yet all are subjected to the necessity of fulfilling the eternal purposes of Heaven. This depth of Divine wisdom in the administration of the universe, exceeds all human comprehension, and affords everlasting subject of adoration and praise. : III. THE wrath of man praises the justice of God, by being employed as the instrument of inflicting punishment on sinners. Did bad men trace the course of events in their life with attentive eye, they might easily discover the greatest part of the disasters which they suffer, to be brought upon them by their own ungoverned passions. The succession of causes and effects is so contrived by Providence, that the wrath which they meant to pour forth on others, frequently recoils, by its effects, upon themselves. But supposing them to escape those external mischiefs which violent passions naturally occasion, they cannot evade the internal misery which they produce. The constitution of things is framed with such profound wisdom, that the Divine laws, in XIV. every event, execute themselves against SERMON the sinner, and carry their sanction in their own bosom. The Supreme Being has no occasion to unlock the prisons of the deep, or to call down the thunder from Heaven, in order to punish the wrath of man. He carries on the administration of justice with more simplicity and dignity. It is sufficient that he allow those fierce passions which render bad men the disturbers of others, to operate on their own hearts. He delivers them up to themselves, and they become their own tormentors. Before the world, they may disguise their sufferings; but it is well known, that to be inwardly torn with despite, revenge, and wrathful passions, is the most intense of all misery. In thus connecting the punishment with the crime, making their own wickedness to reprove them, and their backslidings to correct them, the avenging hand of a righteous governour is conspicuous; and thus the observation of the Psalmist is fully verified; the wicked have drawn out the sword, and bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy; but their sward shall enter into their own heart * SERMON XIV. The wrath of man also praises the justice of God in the punishment of other criminals, as well as of the wrathful themselves. Ambitious and lawless men are let loose upon each other, that, without any supernatural interposition, they may fulfil the just vengeance of Heaven in their mutual destruction. They may occasionally be cemented together by conspiracy against the just; but as no firm nor lasting bond can unite them, they become at last the prey of mutual jealousy, strife, and fraud. For a time, they may go on, and seem to prosper. The justice of Heaven may appear to slumber; but it is awake, and only waits till the measure of their iniquity be full. God represents himself in Scripture as sometimes permitting wickedness to arise to an overgrown height, on purpose that its ruin may be the greater, and more exemplary. He says to the tyrant of Egypt, that for this cause he had raised him up, that is, had allowed him to prosper and be exalted, that he might shew in him his power; and that his name might be declared throughout all the earth*. The Divine administra *Exod. ix. 16. |