6. More than that, they may prosper by their ill works, they may enjoy the fruits of their sin, and thrive by their ill courses; as Ephraim did, Hos. xii. 7, 8. Riches are called the mammon of unrighteousness, because ofttimes they are got together by unrighteousness. Many a fair estate, and great worldly wealth has been got together by oppression; yea the foundation of some has been laid in blood, Hab. ii. 12. A plain evidence, that men may not only prosper in, but by sin.

7. Sinners may get a long time of it, wherein they sin, and God spares still. The old world got a long day of 120 years. Job observes, that the wicked may live, and become old, and continue prosperous too, Job xxi. 7, and Is. lxv. 20. Sometimes God quickly cuts off men in a course of sin but it is not always so; but men may grow gray-headed in the way of wickedness.

8. The Lord may seem to be in his way to execute the sentence sometimes, and yet may give another delay; his hand stretched out, he may withdraw again, Psal. lxxviii. 38. Criminals may be set on the brow of the hill, and yet be returned safe, and make a very ill use of the deliverance, turning worse on the back of it. The 120 years being out, the old world got seven days more respite, and they gave themselves the loose. See Matt. xxiv. 38.

9. When execution is at length begun, it may be carried on very leisurely for a time: the drops may come very few and soft before the shower, Is. ix. 1. God may deal very gently with impenitent sinners, even when he is risen up against them, before he come to the full execution. God's judgments coming with iron hands, may yet proceed with leaden feet in slow pace.

10. Lastly, More than all that, the execution may be entirely put off during this life. Men may live wickedly and prosperously, die peaceably, and be buried honourably; and so would wholly escape with their ill works, were it not that there is another world and an after-reckoning, and that there is no delay of execution there. This is plain from Eccl. viii. 10, "I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done." Luke xvi. 19, 22, "There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day. The rich man also died, and was buried." Psal. lxxiii. 4, "There are no bands in death but their strength is firm." Sometimes God makes the world witness to the execution of the sentence against an ill work : but oft-times men get out of the world without it, in this slow method of providence.

II. We shall account for this slow method of providence. Aud

there is much need to do it, because there is a mystery of providence in it that is not easy to unriddle, and among men there are sad blunders about it. And,

1. It is wrested by many a sinner in his own case, to his own ruin, Prov. i. 32. We naturally have such high thoughts of the world's smiles, that we are apt to imagine God thinks highly of them too, and that he expresses his special love and kindness by them. But quite the contrary: Rev. iii. 19, "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten." Hence a prosperous sinner can hardly imagine himself not to be a favourite of Heaven, at least cannot think God is so angry with his way as some would give out; and so he continues secure in his course, Psal. 1. 21.

2. Being misunderstood, it is ruining to many spectators, and is in hazard of turning them atheistical, and contemners of religion : Mal. iii. 14, 15, "Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it, that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts? And now we call the proud happy: yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered." There are many who have no inward principle of religion. Now, when these see that there is worldly advantage to be got by it, they embrace it, like the mixed multitude from Egypt: but when they see the way of wickedness prosperous, and sinners to keep the road for all the threatenings against them, and the godly afflicted and bowed down for all the promises to them; they are ready to think, that the threatenings and promises of the word are both but empty sounds, and that they see so.

3. There is a difficulty in it, that has puzzled many a great saint, and made him to stagger. So ready are we to walk by sense, not by faith. This was a knotty piece of the book of providence to Jeremiah, though he resolved to believe over the belly of sense, Jer. xii. 1, 2; and to Habakkuk, chap. i. 2, 3, 4. It had almost carried Asaph quite off his feet, Psal. lxxiii. 2—13, 14.

4. There being a darkness on the minds of all men with respect to the methods of divine procedure, they are apt to imagine an inconsistency of this method of providence with the perfections attributed to God. And there are four divine perfections, that are apt to run a risk with poor sinners blind and rash in judging.

1st, His omniscience, whereby he seeth and noticeth all things done in the world, Prov. xv. 3, "The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good." But when men themselves are conscious of their own wickedness, and yet see that God does not proceed against them for it, they are apt to say, as Ezek. ix. 9,

"The Lord hath forsaken the earth, and the Lord seeth not.” So the Psalmist represents men going on in their wickedness, secure as to any notice to be taken of it from heaven, Psal. xciv. 5, 6, 7, "They break in pieces thy people, O Lord, and afflict thine heritage. They slay the widow and the stranger, and murder the fatherless. Yet they say, The Lord shall not see: neither shall the God of Jacob regard it." Therefore Job asserts it on that occasion, chap. xxiv. 1, "Why, seeing times are not hidden from the Almighty, do they that know him, not see his days?

2dly, His holiness, whereby he is pure in himself, and cannot but hate all impurity and sin in his creatures. It is certain that it is so. The angels proclaim it, Is. vi. 3, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts." The Psalmist pointedly declares it, Psal. v. 4, 5, "Thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee. The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity." But when men see this method of providence with ungodly sinners, they can hardly believe it, Psal. 1. 21, "These things hast thou done, and I kept silence: thou thoughtest that I was altogether such a one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes." For, think they, if it were so, how could he bear with such unholiness in sinners affronting him, and trampling on his laws? Therefore the Prophet asserts it on that very occasion, but withal owns a difficulty of reconciling this method of providence with it, Hab. i. 13. "Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and caust not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he ?"

3dly, His justice or righteousness, whereby he so hates sin that he cannot but punish it. It is certain it is so, Gen. xviii. 25. "Shall not the judge of all the earth do right?" He has demonstrated it in the death of his own Son. But when men see ungodly sinners going on in their sin unpunished, they are apt to think, that God is not so very just in that matter, as some give him out to be; for they cannot see sin get a just recompense. Therefore Jeremiah asserts it on that occasion, Jer. xii. 1. "Righteous art thou, O Lord."

4thly, His goodness to his own people, whereby being good in himself, he does good to them that are good. It is certain it is so, Psal. xxxiv. 8, 9, 10. "O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. O fear the Lord, ye his saints for their is no want to them that fear him. The young lions do lack and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing." The prophet got it in commission, Is. iii, 10.

"Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings." But when men see this method of providence dangling ungodly sinners, and smiting the godly, they are apt to think it is not so. And therefore Asaph asserts it on that occasion, Psal. lxxiii. 1. “Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart."

Now, to remove these misconstructions, and account for the slow method of providence, I offer these considerations.

First, This method is taken to bring sinners to repentance, and prevent their ruin, 2 Pet. iii. 9.; and it is becoming the perfections of a merciful God, therefore to use it. By this means sinners,

1. Have time and space to repent given them, Rev. ii. 21. Were they always taken away just in the heat of their unmortified lusts, we would be ready to cry out of severity, Num. xvii. 12. But God gives them leave to cool ordinarily, if so they will bethink themselves, and turn to the Lord, and so prevent their own ruin.

2. They are invited to repentance, and drawn towards it with the softest methods. Rom. ii. 2. Every sparing preventing, bounteous mercy the impenitent meets with, calls aloud to him to repent. It says to him, "Do thyself no harm:" it upbraids him with wilfulness for his own ruin, why will ye die? with ingratitude, Is this thy kindness to thy friend? And so hereby,

1st, God has the glory of some perfections, which otherwise would not shine forth so illustriously.

(1.) He has the glory of his long-suffering and patience: 2 Pet. iii. 9. "The Lord is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." Grave observers of the method of providence must cry out, O wonderful long-suffering of a God! The patience of the meekest man on earth, would be quite worn out with less than the half of what a God bears with.

(2.) He has the glory of his universal good-will to poor sinners of mankind, 2 Pet. iii. 9. forecited. 1 Tim. ii. 4. "Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth." Justice is his act, his strange act; but mercy is what he has a peculiar delight in. He is slow to anger, but ready to forgive. This is written in very legible characters in this method.

(3.) He has the glory of his overcoming goodness. To do evil for good, is devilish; to do good for good, is human: but to do good for ill is divine. Here shines forth the glory of the divine goodness, overcoming evil with good, Luke vi. 35. This is goodness becoming a God!

2dly, As to the sinner, it issues always in one of two things.

(1.) His recovery, to the saving of his soul from sin, and perishing eternally. And God, who has a due value for immortal souls, sees that a great thing; and treats it as worth the waiting on, Luke XV. 7. The Scripture holds out this as a noble attainment, Jam. v. 20. "Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way, shall save a soul from death, and hide a multitude of sins." How many are there singing Hallelujahs in heaven this day, by means of the slow method, that by the swift method had been roaring with the damned? "Had I died before threescore and sixteen, I had perished, for I knew not Christ." Turk. hist. pag. 96.

(2.) Or else his being left inexcusable, Rom. i. 20. The longer God has borne with, and the more kind he has been to impenitent sinners, the more inexcuseable they will be; and the more will God's severity against them be justified. And so this method tends to the clearing of God's justice.

Secondly, In the slow method God takes with sinners, he often has an eye to posterity; and that,

1. To posterity in general. And it is of use to them, whether the sinner so spared repent or not. If he repent, it is of noble use to encourage them that come after, to turn to God. How useful to many one has been the slow method which God took with Manasseh and Paul! 1 Tim. i. 16. If he repent not, and vengeance seize him at length in sight of the world, he becomes a warning piece to others that come after, Psal. xxxvii. 35-37. Though it do not, his memory rots; and the conscience of every one that notices his wickedness silent and at an end in the grave, judges him to have spent his life foolishly, Job xxiv. 19, 20. Thus many who are of no use in the world to others but for mischief, God in his providence makes good use of them.

2. To the sinners' own posterity; and that,

1st, To their posterity yet unborn. There may be vessels of mercy in the loins of vessels of wrath. Many graceless parents have been fathers and mothers of gracious children. It is for the elect's sake that the world is kept up; and if the last elect were born and brought in, the world will quickly be at an end. The law spares a condemned woman, if she is with child, till she has brought it forth and God often spares long, condemned sinners, for the elect that may be in their loins, Matth. xxiv. 22. There was a sentence

passed against the generation which came out

of Egypt, which for

this very reason was about thirty-eight years ere it was executed on

some.

2dly, To their posterity already born; and that two ways.