if sin had never entered, the infinite holiness of the divine nature, and the perfect justice of the divine government, could not have been so fully manifested as they now are; whilst the pardoning mercy and love to sinners, which the Lord exhibits by the gospel, as his peculiar riches and glory, could never have been known, imagined, or adored, by any of his crea

tures.

Much more might be adduced on this head, with reference to the Person and redemption of Christ: but it does not behove us to dwell on such a mysterious subject; for indeed all our thoughts and reasonings are, as it were, swallowed up in it. But then, it is a mystery, which equally belongs to every system of religion: for it is an undeniable fact, that God hath permitted sin and misery to invade the creation: he could have prevented their entrance, and we should a priori have concluded that he would. We must there. fore allow, that this permission of evil consists with the divine perfections, or be forced to take refuge in atheism: unless we prefer the Manichean absurdity of two independent beings, one good and the other evil, engaged in perpetual hostility against each other. It is vain, therefore, on this ground, to object to revelation, or to any particular doctrines contained in it; for the mind must be pressed with the same difficulty, from undeniable facts, whether it acquiesce in the scriptural account of this subject, or look for satisfaction some other way. But, as we are not warranted to go a step beyond the scripture on this incomprehensible subject, I shall digress no further; but proceed to specify some of the RIGHTS OF GOD, in

respect of those creatures, which have sinned, and merited punishment, whether in this world, or in the

next.

I. The Lord hath a right to execute deserved vengeance on guilty nations, or individuals, by whatever means and instruments he sees good..

Having denounced the sentence on fallen man, "Dust thou art, and to dust thou shalt return;" he executes it, through successive generations, on persons of every rank, age, character, and description, by a variety of wasting and painful diseases: but, as we are accustomed to this procedure, we express lit tle surprise; nor is it generally objected to as unjust, because it is undeniable fact, and second causes are more noticed in it than the appointment of God. Yet infants, women, and the most inoffensive persons, are thus cut off, without any discrimination; and they fre quently endure far sharper and more lingering agonies, than those which accompany most kinds of violent death. Sometimes the Lord employs famines, earthquakes, pestilences, and hurricanes, to execute his righteous decrees, and these events excite more astonishment: but men do not in general doubt of his right to deal thus with his creatures. And when na tions are desolated by civil contests, massacres, or cruel oppressions; or by hostile invasions and destruc.. tive wars, in the ordinary course of human affairs; the wickedness of the executioners sometimes fixes the attention of multitudes; whilst the justice of God, who works by them, is either overlooked, or tacitly ac knowledged.

But on one grand occasion, in order to shew his abhorrence of iniquity, and to display the justice of his providential government, it pleased God to commission Israel to inflict his vengeance on the Amalekites, Canaanites, and other devoted nations, by military execution: and though he sealed the commission of his people by most signal miracles, and took effectual care that their conduct should not, in any ordinary circumstances, be pleaded as a precedent; yet the dispensation has been most vehemently exclaimed against, as if it were so contrary to essential justice and goodness, that no evidence could suffice to prove those persons to be sent by God, who executed such orders, or gave a sanction to them!

If, however, it consist with the divine perfections, to terminate, with much suffering, the lives of men, women, and children indiscriminately, by fevers, pestilences, famines, or earthquakes; and if many thousands every day are put to death by one means or other: what injustice could there be in the Lord's commanding his people to execute a similar sentence on guilty nations, by the sword of war? If they deserved death, it could not be unjust to cut them off in this, or any other, manner: and if it could be shewn to be an act of injustice to destroy them at all, the pains and fatal effects of a pestilence would have been equally liable to exception. Will any reasonable man dare to affirm explicitly, that the Lord had no right to order such an execution? Such an affirmation would involve the most complicated blasphemy against every part of God's providential dealings with our race: yet if it be allowed that he had this right; it must follow,

that he had also a right to appoint the executioners; his express command fully authorized whatever was done in obedience to it; and the humanity, required in other cases, would at least have been as criminal in the Israelites, as it is when exercised in sheltering a wilful murderer from justice.

Had they cut off vast multitudes with undistinguishing slaughter, to gratify their own ambition, avarice, cruelty, or revenge; their conduct would have been most atrocious: or if they had imagined that such sacrifices would be pleasing to God, though he had never required them; no man that duly reverences the scripture, would have attempted to justily or even excuse them. One of these must be the case with all, who in succeeding ages, and in ordinary circumstances, have pretended to copy their example. But the same records, that inform us of the fact, contain also the Lord's express commission, ratified by the most undeniable and multiplied miracles; the authenticity of these books is evinced by the most unanswerable arguments; and the fulfilment of prophecies contained in them, (especially in the present state of the Jews, as connected with the coming of Christ, and the establishment of his religion,) concurs with many other infallible arguments to prove, that "holy men "of God, spake and wrote in them as they were "moved by the Holy Ghost." Thus the conduct of Israel is fully justified: for He, who gave us our lives, which we have forfeited by sin, has a right to take them away, in that manner which he sees most conducive to the display of his own glory.

The shedding of human blood becomes an act of publick justice, yea, a required sacrifice to the honour of the divine command, when it is the blood of a wil ful murderer: and in like manner those actions, which would be unjust, cruel, and horrid, if done by men to gratify their own passions, become acceptable and holy services when done in obedience to God. For we have no right to take away the life of our neighbour, or in any way to injure him, even though he deserves death: but God has a right to punish every transgressor; "to him vengeance belongeth;" he commissions whom he pleases to inflict it: in ordina ry circumstances the civil magistrate is the authorized "minister of God; a revenger to execute wrath upon "evil doers:" and he was pleased to appoint the Is. raelites to a similar office, in respect of the Canaanites, with an extraordinary commission, sealed and ratified by his own miraculous interposition in their behalf.

As, therefore, the sheriff, that should permit the murderer to escape, whose execution had been entrusted to him, would be very criminal; nor would the plea of compassion and humanity exculpate him, for thus obstructing the course of publick justice, and violating the duty of his office; so the Israelites were not culpable for putting the Canaanites to death, without mercy, but for sparing from selfish motives those whom God had devoted to destruction, in disobedience to his express command.

The objections, therefore, which have on this ground been made to the history of the Old Testament, are irrational, as well as presumptuous. But