imputed to their children. Besides, many of the parents of these suffering children are dead or absent, so as never to know it. And how in these cases can it be a punishment for their parent's sin, any otherwise than as it is a general punishment for the sin of their first parent?

"But God recompenses them for these sufferings hereafter." Where does the Scripture affirm this? Besides many of them grow up to manhood. And if they prove wicked and are sent to hell at last, what recompense have they for their infant sufferings? Or will you say, God punished them before they had sinned, because he knew beforehand they would sin? Yet farther: what wise or good. design can this their punishment answer, when no creature can know what they are punished for, if it be not for that which affects all mankind?

"But how are such miseries reigning among his creatures consistent with the goodness of God?" Perfectly well; if we consider mankind as a sinful, degenerate part of God's creation. It is most abundant goodness that they have any comforts left, and that their miseries are not doubled. Now the inspired writers do consider mankind as fallen from God; and so his goodness is evident in a thousand instances: though it must be confessed there are also a thousand instances of his just hatred of sin, and his righteous punishments among all nations. (p. 73.)

11. "If we put together all these scenes of vice and misery, it is evident that creatures lying in such deplorable circumstances, are not such as they came out of the hands of their Creator, who is wise, holy, and good. His wisdom, which is all harmony and order, would not suffer him to frame a whole race of beings, under such wild and innumerable disorders, moral as well as natural. His holiness would not permit him to create beings with innate principles of iniquity: nor his goodness to produce a whole order of creatures in such circumstances of pain, torment, and death. (p. 74.)

"Could the holy and blessed God originally design and frame a whole world of intelligent creatures, in such circumstances, that every one of them coming into being, according to the laws of nature, in a long succession of ages, in different climates, of different constitutions and tempers, and in ten thousand different stations and conditions of life: that every one of them should break the laws of reason, and more or less defile themselves with sin? That every one should offend his Maker, every one become guilty in his sight? Every one expose himself to God's displeasure, to pain, and misery, and mortality, without one single exception? If men were such creatures as God at first made them, would not one man among so many millions have made a right use of his reason and conscience, and so have avoided sin and death? Would this have been the universal consequence of their original constitution, as framed by the hand of a wise, holy, merciful God? What can be more absurd to imagine than this? Surely God made man upright and happy: nor could all these mischiefs have come directly from our Creator's hand. (p. 75, 76.)

"Is it objected, that still the greater part of men have more moral good than evil in them, and have more pleasure than pain; and therefore, on the whole, mankind are sinful and miserable; and that even the best human constitutions, lay some innocent persons, under unavoidable hardships.' I answer, 1. In order to pronounce a man miserable, he must have more pain than pleasure: but in order to pronounce a man a sinner, there is no need, that his moral evil should exceed his good. If a man had a hundred virtues, one vice would make him a criminal in the sight of God: one transgression of the law of his Creator, would lay him under his just displeasure. He that keeps the whole law, except in one point, affronts that authority which requires all obedience. All men therefore are under this condemnation; they are sinners every one of them. (p. 77.)

"As to misery, let it be supposed (though by no means granted) that there are many whose pleasures exceed their uneasiness: yet it is certain, there are more, whose pains and uneasiness far exceed. their pleasures. And it is hard to conceive, how this should be, if all men were innocent and happy by nature.

"I answer, 2. Men are not able to frame such constitutions in every case, as shall secure happiness to all the innocent. Their narrow views of things do not enable them to provide against all fu ture inconveniences. But it is not thus with the Creator and Governor of all things. He views at once all possibles and all futures. Therefore he is well able to guard against any inconvenience that might befall innocent beings. (p. 78.)

"I answer, 3. Though the bulk of mankind were happy in the pre-sent constitution of things, this gives no manner of satisfaction to any one individual, who is unhappy, without any demerit: the advantage of the majority is no reason at all, why any one innocent should suffer. If any one therefore, man or child, and much more, if numbers of them, have more pain than pleasure, they must be involved in some guilt, which may give just occasion to their misery. (p. 79.)

12. "To enforce this, after the survey of these pains and sorrows, let us consider what are the pleasures of the bulk of mankind. Cast. a glance at the sports of children, from five to fifteen years of age. What toys and fooleries are these? Would a race of wise and holy beings, waste so many years of early life in such wretched trifles? And as for our manly years, what are the greatest part of the delights of men, but silly and irrational, if not grossly sinful? What are the pleasures even of the rich and great, to relieve them under the common sorrows of life? If they be not luxury and intemperance, are they not furniture and equipage, finery of dress and gay appearances? To shine in silks of various dye, and blaze in the splendour of gold. and jewels? Now would wise and holy creatures have made this the matter of their joy and pleasure, My coat is gayer than your's, and I have more glittering things about me than you have! (p. 80, 81.)

"Others call for cards or dice, to divert their trouble and pass away their time. How inexpressibly trifling are these sports, if mere diversion be sought therein? But if the design be gain, how is the

game mingled with uneasy fears, with the working of various passions? Which in case of disappointment and loss, often break out into wrath and fury!

"Again. What multitudes drench themselves in gross sensualities, as their chief delight? They make a god of their belly, till they overload nature, and make haste to disease and death. They drown their cares and their senses together; or they bury them in sensual impurities. (p. 82.)

"Others release themselves from the troubles of life, by gadding abroad and mixing with impertinent company. Some delight in wanton jest, in foolish merriment, in mean and triding conversation; a little above the chattering of monkeys in a wood, or the chirping of crickets upon a hearth. Nay, perhaps it is their diversion, to rail at their neighbours, to murder the reputation of the absent. This is their mirth and recreation; these their reliefs against the common miseries of human life! (p. 83.)

"But would a race of innocent beings flee to such mean and foolish, or criminal refuges from pain as these? Would they pursue such vain and vile delights? Would they become rivals to the beasts of the field? Or sport themselves as devils do, in accusing their fellow-creatures? Surely if we survey the very pleasures, as well as the sorrows, of the bulk of mankind, we may learn from thence, that we are by no means such creatures as we were originally created.

"I need but add one more proof of the general ruin of human uature. We are all posting to the grave. Every one of us are succeeding our neighbours, into some unknown, invisible world. And we all profess to believe this. Yet how exceedingly few are solicitous about this great and awful futurity? Though we are exposed to so many sins and miseries in this life, and are hastening visibly and hourly to the end of it, yet how few are there that make any careful preparation for a better state than this! What multitudes are daily running down into darkness, speeding to an endless duration in an unknown country, without any earnest inquiries about the panner of existence there! They walk over the busy stage of life, they toil and labour, or play and trifle awhile here, and then plunge into a strange, unseen world, where they will meet with a just and holy God, whose wisdom will assign them a place and portion suited to their own character. Now were men indeed wise and holy, could they remain so ignorant and thoughtless of that state, into which they are all hastening? Or could a gracious God create a race of beings, in such a stupid insensibility of their eternal interests, so unsuited to the felicities of an immortal spirit, and so negligent of all preparations for them? (p. 85.)

"Upon this whole survey, reason must join in this mournful confession, that there must be some spreading poison which has tainted our nature, made us so sinful and miserable, so thoughtless of the future, and unprepared for it. There must have been some general revolt of mankind from their Creator, whereby they have quined their innocence and peace, and provoked the anger of their

Maker, whereby they become exposed to such wretched circumstances, even in their infancy and childhood, as well as when they grow to years of ripe understanding. (p. 86.)

"And methinks when I take a just survey of this world, with all the inhabitants of it, I can look upon it no otherwise, than as a grand and magnificent structure in ruins: wherein lie millions of rebels against their Creator, under condemnation to misery and death who are at the same time sick of a moral distemper, and disordered in their minds even to distraction. Hence proceed those numberless follies and vices which are practised here; and the rightcous anger of an offended God visible in ten thousand instances. Yet are there proclamations of divine grace, health and life sounding among them; though very few take any notice thereof. Only here and there one attends to the call, and complies with the proposals of peace. His sins are pardoned and healed. And though his body goes down to the dust for a season, his soul is happy with God: while the bulk of those criminals, despising all the offers of mercy, perish in their own wilful madness! (p. 89, 90.)

"What is the chief temptation that leads some men to deny so glaring a truth? Is it that they cannot give a satisfactory account of some of the difficulties that attend it? Nay, many even of the heathen philosophers believed it, from their own experience, and their daily survey of mankind: though they were utterly at a loss, how to account for it. And what if we could not assign a sufficient and satisfactory reason for it? Or show how this spreading degeneracy began, or how it came to take place so universally? What if we were still at a loss to explain how all this guilt and misery came upon us, must we therefore deny the things which we see and hear, and feel daily? (p. 91.)

"Can we account for all the secret things in the creation of God? And must we deny whatever we cannot account for? Does any man refuse to believe, that the infinite variety of plants and flowers, in all their beauteous colours and forms, grow out of the same earth, because he does not know all the springs of their vegetation? Do men doubt of a. loadstone's drawing iron to itself, because they cannot find out the way of its operation? Are we not sure that food nourishes our bodies, and medicines relieve our pains? Yet we know not all the ferments and motions of those atoms, by which we are relieved and nourished. Why then should we deny that degeneracy of our nature, which admits of so full and various proof, though we are not able to account for every circumstance relating to it, or to solve every difficulty that may attend it ?" (p. 92.)

QUESTION II.

How came Vice and Misery to overspread Mankind in all Nations and in all Ages? (p. 94.)

"HEATHEN Philosophers could never answer this: but Christians may, from the Oracles of God.

These inform us, that the first man was a common head and representative of all mankind: and that he by sinning against his Maker, lost his holiness and happiness: and exposed himself and his posterity (whom he naturally produced and whom he legally represented) to the displeasure of his Maker, and so spread sin and misery through his whole offspring. (p. 102.)

So St. Paul, As by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, even so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.' (Rom. v. 12.) All are esteemed in some sort guilty before God, though they did not sin after the similitude of Adam's transgression.' They did not commit actual personal sin against a known law as Adam did.

"This may more fully appear from the following particulars.

"1. It is plainly taught us in Scripture, that God at first created one man and woman called Adam and Eve; and from them is derived the whole race of mankind: God hath made of one blood,' as the apostle observes, all nations of men, to dwell on all the face of the earth.'

2. "God created man at first in a holy and happy state, in his own likeness, and in his favour. (p. 160.) And God said, let us make man in our own image, after our own likeness.' (Gen. i. 26.) And that none of the brute creation might molest him, but all of them be for his service, he said, 'Let them have dominion over the fish, and the fowl, and the cattle.'-'So God created man in his own image.' And what this image consisted in, beside his spiritual and immortal nature, and his dominion over other creatures, we are told by St. Paul, where he speaks of the new man, which,' says he, after God, that is, after the likeness of God, is created in rightcousness and true holiness.' (Eph. iv. 24.) So Solomon assures us, God made man upright.' And Moses says, when God had finished all his creation, God saw every thing that he had made, and behold it was very good.' It was all according to his idea and his will, and well-pleasing in his sight. Man, the last of his creatures, as well as all the rest, was very good, was holy and happy.

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3. "God originally appointed that Adam when innocent should produce an offspring in his own holy image and on the other hand that if he sinned, he should propagate his kind in his own sinful image. The former is allowed. The latter may be gathered from Gen. v. 1-5, In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him :- And Adam lived a hundred and thirty years