God, and the experience of his faints, Heb. xii. 11. "Now, no affliction for the prefent feemeth to be joyous, "but grievous: Neverthelefs, afterwards it yieldeth the "peaceable fruit of righteoufnefs unto them which are ex"ercifed thereby." But what we are particularly led to obferve by the fubject of this difcourfe is, that the wrath of man, or the violence of the oppreffor that praifeth God in this refpect, it has a peculiar tendency to alarm the fecure conscience, to convince and humble the obftinate finner. This is plain from the nature of the thing, and from the teftimony of experience. Public calamities, particularly the deftroying fword, is fo awful that it cannot but have a powerful influence in leading men to confider the prefence and the power of God. It threatens them not only in themselves, but touches them in all that is dear to them, whether relations or poffeffions. The pro phet Ifaiah says, If. xxvi. 8, 9. "Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O Lord, have we waited for thee,-for แ when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of "the world will learn righteoufnefs." He confiders it as the most powerful mean of alarming the fecure and fubduing the obftinate. If. xxvi. 11. "Lord when thy hand is "lifted up, they will not fee, but they fhall fee and be "afhamed for their envy at the people, yea the fire of "thine enemies fhall devour them." It is alfo fometimes reprefented as a fymptom of a hopeless and irrecoverable ftate, when public judgments have no effect. Thus fays the prophet Jeremiah, Jer. v. 3. "O Lord, are not thine "eyes upon the truth? thou haft ftricken them, but they "have not grieved; thou haft confumed them, but they have

refused to receive correction: they have made their fa"ces harder than a rock, they have refused to return." We can easily fee in the hiftory of the children of Ifrael, how fevere ftrokes brought them to fubmiffion and penitence. Pf. lxxviii. 34, 35." When he flew them, then

they fought him, and they returned and inquired early "after God, and they remembered that God was their "rock, and the high God their redeemer."

Both nations in general, and private perfons, are apt to grow remifs and lax in a time of profperity and feeming VOL. III.

D

fecurity; but when their earthly comforts are endangered or withdrawn, it lays them under a kind of neceffity to feek for fomething better in their place. Men must have comfort from one quarter or another. When earthly things are in a pleasing and promifing condition, too many are apt to find their reft, and be fatisfied with them as their only portion. But when the vanity and paffing nature of all created comfort is discovered, they are compelled to look for fomething more durable as well as valuable. What therefore, can be more to the praise of God, than that when a whole people have forgotten their resting place, when they have abused their privileges, and defpifed their mercies, they fhould by diftrefs and fuffering be made to hearken to the rod, and return to their duty?

There is an inexpreffible depth and variety in the judg ments of God, as in all his other works; but we may lay down this as a certain principle, that if there were no fin, there could be no fuffering. Therefore they are certainly for the correcton of fin, or for the trial, illuftration, and perfecting of the grace and virtue of his own people. We are not to fuppofe, that those who fuffer moft, or who fuffer fooneft, are therefore more criminal than others. Our Saviour himself thought it neceffary to give a caution against this rafh conclufion, as we are informed by the evangelift Luke, Luke xiii. 1. "There were present at that season "fome that told him of the Galileans, whofe blood Pilate "had mingled with their facrifices. And Jefus anfwering "faid unto them, Suppofe ye that thefe Galileans were "finners above all the Galileans, because they fuffered "fuch things? I tell you nay, but except ye repent, ye "fhall all likewife perifh." I fuppofe we may fay with fufficient warrant, that it often happens, that thofe for whom God hath defigns of the greatest mercy, are first brought to the trial, that they may enjoy in due time the falutary effect of the unpalatable medicine.

I muft alfo take leave to obferve, and I hope no pious humble fufferer will be unwilling to make the application, that there is often a difcernible mixture of fovereignty and righteousness in providential difpenfations. It is the prerogative of God to do what he will with his own, but he

often displays his justice itfelf, by throwing into the furnace thofe, who though they may not be vifibly worse than others, may yet have more to answer for, as having been favored with more distinguished privileges, both civil and facred. It is impoffible for us to make a juft and full com. parison of the character either of perfons or nations, and it would be extremely foolish for any to attempt it, either for increafing their own fecurity, or impeaching the juftice of the Supreme Ruler. Let us therefore neither forget the truth, nor go beyond it. "His mercy fills the earth." He is also "known by the judgment which he executeth." The wrath of man in its molt tempeftuous rage, fulfills his will, and finally promotes the good of his chofen.

3. The wrath of man praiseth God, as he fets bounds to it, or restrains it by his providence, and fometimes makes it evidently a mean of promoting and illuftrating his glory.

There is no part of divine providence in which a greater beauty and majesty appears, than when the Almighty Ruler turns the counfels of wicked men into confufion, and makes them militate against themselves. If the pfalmift may be thought to have had a view in this text to the truths illuftrated in the two former obfervations, there is no doubt at all that he had a particular view to this, as he fays in the latter part of the verfe, "the remainder of wrath "fhalt thou reftrain." The fcripture abounds with inftances, in which the defigns of oppreffors were either wholly difappointed, or in execution fell far fhort of the malice of their intention, and in some they turned out to the honor and happiness of the perfons or the people, whom they were intended to deftroy. We have an inftance of the first of these in the history to which my text relates.* We have also an inftance in Efther, in which the mot mifchievous defigns of Haman, the Son of Hammedatha the Agagite against Mordecai the Jew, and the nation from which he fprung, turned out at last to his own destruction, the honor of Mordecai, and the falvation and peace of his people.

The matter is fully ftated and reafoned upon by the prophet Ifaiah ch x. from the 5th to the 19th verfe.

1

From the New Teftament I will make choice of that memorable event on which the falvation of believers in every age refts as its foundation, the death and fufferings of the Son of God. This the great adverfary and all his agents and inftruments profecuted with unrelenting rage. When they had blackened him with flander, when they fcourged him with fhame, when they had condemned him. in judgment, and nailed him to the cross, how could they help efteeming their victory complete? But oh the unfearchable wifdom of God! they were but perfecting the great defign laid for the falvation of finners. Our bleffed Redeemer by his death finifhed his work, overcame principalities and powers, and made a fhew of them openly, triumphing over them in his crofs. With how much juftice do the apoftles and their company offer this doxology to God, "They lift up their voice with one ac“cord, and said, Lord thou art God which haft made heaven and earth, and the fea, and all that in them is; "Who by the mouth of thy fervant David haft faid, Why "did the Heathen rage, and the people imagine vain

things? The kings of the earth ftood up, and the rulers "were gathered together against the Lord, and against his "Chrift. For of a truth, against thy holy Child Jefus, "whom thou haft anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pi"late, with the Gentiles, and the people of Ifrael were "gathered together, for to do whatfoever thy hand and thý "counfel determined before to be done." Acts iv. 24. 28.

In all after ages, in conformity to this, the deepeft laid contrivances of the prince of darkness, have turned out to the confufion of their author; and I know not, but confidering his malice and pride, this perpetual disappointment, and the fuperiority of divine wifdom, may be one great fource of his fuffering and torment. The cross

hath ftill been the banner of truth, under which it hath been carried through the world. Perfecution has been but as the furnace to the gold, to purge it of its drofs, to manifeft its purity, and increase its luftre. It was taken notice of very early, that the blood of the martyrs was the feed of chriftianity; the more abundantly it was fhed, the more plentifully did the harvest grow.

So certain has this appeared, that the most violent infidels, both of early and later ages, have endeavored to account for it, and have obferved that there is a fpirit of obftinacy in man which inclines him to refift violence, and that feverity doth but increase oppofition, be the cause what it will. They fuppofe that perfecution is equally proper to propagate truth and error. This though in part true, will by no means generally hold. Such an apprehenfion, however, gave occafion to a glorious triumph of divine providence of an oppofite kind, which I must fhortly relate to you. One of the Roman emperors, Julian, furnamed the apoftate, perceiving how impoffible it was to fupprefs the gofpel by violence, endeavored to extinguish it by neglect and fcorn. He left the Chriftians unmolefted for fometime, but gave all manner of encouragement to those of oppofite principles, and particularly to the Jews, out of hatred to the Chriftians; and that he might bring public difgrace upon the Galileans, as he affected to stile them, he encouraged the Jews to rebuild the temple of Jerufalem, and vifibly refute the prophecy of Chrift, that it fhould lie under perpetual defolation. But this profane attempt was fo fignally fruftrated, that it ferved, as much as any one circumftance, to fpread the glory of our Redeemer, and establish the faith of his faints. It is affirmed by fome ancient authors, particularly by Ammianus Marcellinus, a heathen hiftorian, that fire came out of the earth and confumed the workmen when laying the foundation. But in whatever way it was prevented, it is beyond all controverfy, from the concurring leftimony of Heathens and Chriftians, that little or no progrefs was ever made in it, and that in a fhort time, it was entirely defeated.

It is proper here to obferve, that at the time of the reformation, when religion began to revive, nothing contributed more to facilitate its reception and increafe its progrefs than the violence of its perfecutors. Their cruelty and the patience of the fufferers, naturally difpofed men to examine and weigh the caufe to which they adhered with fo much conftancy and refolution. At the fame time alfo, when they were perfecuted in one city, they