wanting some, who, on these and other accounts, have murmured against God, impiously alleging that his ways are not equal; of which the chapter whence the text is taken affords a striking instance. They censure them as grievous and burdensome, though in reality, they are pleasant and delightful; they represent them as dangerous, though, in truth, those who, through grace, have turned from their own ways, and walk in the ways of the Lord, ever dwell safely, and are quiet from fear of evil: they say that they are vain and unprofitable; whereas the unerring Word of God declares, that "in keeping them there is great reward." By such groundless charges, have men of corrupt minds dared to calumniate the proceedings of Providence. Το refute these and all other difficulties that may be urged upon the subject, the christian minister confidently pleads the perfect righteousness, the absolute sovereignty, and the unbounded mercy of Jehovah.

To such complainers as have been described, I would reply in the words of Elihu, when justifying the ways of the Most High in his dealings with mankind: "he will not lay upon man more than right, that he should enter into judgment with God." "The work of a man shall he render unto him, and cause every one to find according to his ways. Yea, surely God will not do wickedly, neither will the Almighty pervert judgment."

No! He, who is "King of Kings, and Lord of Lords," fears not the frowns of the great: He, whom "the heaven of heavens cannot contain," envies not the condition of the prosperous; nor can He, who "is before all things, and by whom all things consist," be in any case influenced by the prospect of advantage. If God has caused sinners sometimes to suffer adversity, and "to drink the wine of astonishment, yet has he always dealt with them far better than their iniquities deserve. To them, to you, my brethren, God condescends to address himself as he did to his people of old, by the prophet Micah: "What have I done unto you? Testify against me." Contemplate the whole conduct of the Almighty Ruler toward the world in general; scrutinize every part that more particularly relates to yourselves; and you will find it correspond with the rules of strict justice, infinite clemency, and unchangeable truth: you cannot but admit that it is, in every instance, fully compatible with the divine perfections of that Being, who "is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works." Since, then, righteousness belongeth unto the Lord, he is assuredly just and equitable in all his dispensations.

The sovereignty of the Most High over all the earth, suggests another reply to the objections brought against the rectitude of his dispensations. The Supreme Lord of all, who doeth

according to his pleasure in heaven and on earth, bestows his favours on whom he will, and in such measure as seemeth good in his sight; though not, perhaps, in the sight of poor fallen mortals. He hath given the earth to the children of men, but he hath distributed it among them in very different portions. "To one he gives five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability;" making each respectively answerable for the use he makes of them. To all he imparts intellectual powers or qualities; to some in a higher, to others in a lower degree. Job has been justly celebrated for his patience; Jonah seems to have had but a small share of this amiable grace; the disciples were weak in their faith; the woman of Canaan was strong in hers. By administering such a wonderful diversity of gifts and graces, God richly displays his wisdom and bounty; he communicates an endless variety to the world and to his creatures; rendering every thing subservient to the beauty and good of the whole.

Let not the poor man then complain, though one be made rich;-the man of moderate abilities, that another is wiser than himself;-nor attempt, like the "slothful servant" in the parable, to plead the inferiority of his advantages, as an excuse for his neglect or abuse of the "one talent" committed to his care. No!

for that one he is just as responsible, as he who has received five. The Almighty, it is true, is not "an hard master, reaping where he hath not sown, and gathering where he hath not strawed." To whomsoever therefore little is given, of him little shall be required; yet must he ever be ready, in the most exalted sense, freely to give of that little, if, for his Saviour's sake, he would gather to himself a good reward in the day of necessity. Neither let the rich, the wise, the powerful, despise their less favored fellow-mortals, nor vainly boast themselves in the multitude of the things that they possess; for, "who is it that makes them to differ?" and "what have they that they did not receive?" Rather let them ever bear in mind the express declaration of scripture, that "to whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required :”—and when to this are added the words addressed by our blessed Lord to his disciples,—“ When ye have done all, say, we are unprofitable servants," shall not the richest, the wisest, the most powerful, of the fallen sons of men, have abundant reason to cast aside every proud and self-important thought, and, with the humble publican, smite upon his breast and say, "God be merciful to me a sinner?"

The tender mercy of God, expressed in the text, furnishes another reply to the objections brought against the equity of the divine dispen

sations. Pining away in their sins, and languishing under the pressure of awful judgments, the Israelites asked, "How should they then live?" as if they had said, "If we are destined, as vessels of wrath, for our iniquities, to sustain destructive calamities, how can we cherish the hope of life and deliverance?" To this question Jehovah commands the prophet Ezekiel to answer, "As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live." You say that you are punished for the sins of your fathers, and that on their account I take pleasure in afflicting you. No! the calamities with which you are visited, are the just retribution of your own transgressions: I do not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men. I invite you to "repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions"-to "make you a new heart and a new spirit; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?" But, if ye persist in refusing to hearken to my voice;-"if ye set at nought my counsel, and will have none of my reproof; I also will laugh at your calamity, I will mock when your fear cometh." "I will punish you for all your abominations; mine eyes shall not spare, neither will I have pity; notwithstanding ye have heard my solemn declaration, that I have far greater pleasure in your repentance and salvation."