spiritual being or beings who are messengers of evil doing, it must be admitted, if its believer acknowledges the Sovereignty of God and Good, that such beings are as much dependent and subordinate creatures as we are, and are therefore ordained by Him, for wise and benign purposes, although they cause temptation, sinning, delusion, and suffering, and can do nothing except by permission and commission. See 1 Sam. xix. 9; Judges ix. 23.

"The law entered that the offence might abound.'-Rom. v. 20. The Creation was made subject to vanity; God hath subjected the Creation to the Bondage of Corruption.Rom. viii. 22. The spirit of man is sown in Dishonour.—

1 Cor. xv. 51.

'I find then,' says Paul, 'A LAW ['in the flesh,'] that when I would do good, [that is, when he would obey the natural impulses of the soul,] evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the [promptings of] the inner man, [the soul.] But I see another LAW, in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to THE LAW OF SIN, which is in my members. [The apostle here represents sinning to be a natural, fixed LAW of this weak, mortal body.] Who shall deliver me, (exclaims he,) from the body of this death? God, I thank, through Jesus Christ our Lord. So, then, with the mind, I serve the law of God; but with the flesh, THE LAW OF SIN.'-Rom. vii. 21--25.

'When Jesus dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, after which Satan [the temptation] entered into him.'-John xiii. 26. 'None of them is lost [from his apostleship] but the son of perdition, that the Scriptures might be Fulfilled.' -xvii. S. Those things which God had shown by the mouth of all His Prophets, that Christ should suffer, He hath so Fulfilled.'-Acts iii. 18. 'Him being delivered by THE DETERMINATE COUNSEL and Foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain. Acts ii. 23. Against thy holy child Jesus, whom Thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the People of Israel, were gathered together

for to do whatsoever Thy hand and Thy Counsel BEFORE DETERMINED TO BE DONE.'---iv. 28.

The Lord had appointed to defeat the good counsel of Ahithopel, to the intent that the Lord might bring evil upon Absalom.'---2 Sam. xvii. 14.

'And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and be converted and healed.'---Isa. vi. 8--10. Is not this a plain evidence that the unbelief of the Jews is in accordance with the most wise Purpose of the Lord? Do you not recollect that, 'As many as were ordained to eternal life [only,] believed?'---Acts xiii. 48; see Rom. viii. 29, 30; ix. 18.

'And the Lord said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants, [this is a proof against unlimited freewill,] that I might show these signs before him.'---Exod. x. 1. 'He turned their heart to hate His people, to deal subtly with His servants.'---Ps. cv. 25.

him, and thou

Now therefore,

'And the Lord said, Thou shalt entice shalt also prevail; go out and do even so. behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil against thee.'-- 2 Chron. xviii. 21, 22.

"Can imperfection from Perfection come?

Can God make ought less perfect than Himself?—
There are in all things but these three proportions,
The greater, equal, less. God could not inake
A God above Himself, nor Equal with-
And thus is He necessitately Highest.
So, if He make, it must be lesser minds,
Little and less, from angels down to men,
Whose natures are imperfect, as His Own
Must be All Perfect. These two states are not
Except as whole unto its parts, opposed;

And Evil is itself no ill, unless

Creation be. Is God then Evil's author?

Only as evil comes from imperfection,

And imperfection from the things He hath made,

And what He hath made, from His will to make.”—BAILEY.

24. That God overrules all Evil in Good.

"We only know that God's best Purposes,

Are often wrought through dreadest means, and sinful.
Is thunder evil, and the dew divine?

Does virtue lie in sunshine, sin in storm?

Is not each natural, needful, wisest, best?

How know we what is evil from what good?"-FESTUS. The sufferings of this present world are not worthy to be compared, ['are nought in comparison with'] the Glory that SHALL be revealed in us.'---Rom. viii. 18.

'For our light affliction which is for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding eternal weight of Glory.'---2 Cor. iv. 17.

'Thus saith the Lord, as I have brought all this great Evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the Good that I have Promised them.'---Jer. xxxii. 42. I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal.'---Deut. xxxii. 39.

'Weeping may endure for a night, but Joy cometh in the morning.---Ps. xxx. 6.

'It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I might learn Thy Statutes.'—Ps. cxix. 71.

"The Lord hath torn, and He WILL HEAL Us; He hath smitten, and He will bind us up.'---Hos. vi. 1. 'He maketh sore, and bindeth up; He woundeth, and His hands make whole.'---Job v. 18. The Lord killeth, and maketh alive; He bringeth down to hell, and bringeth up. The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich; He bringeth low, and lifteth up.'-1 Sam. ii. 6, 7. Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.'---Job xiii. 15.

'It shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over them to pluck up, and to break through, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict, so will I watch over them to build and to plant, saith the Lord.'---Jer. xxxi. 28.

'But, where Sin abounded, Grace did MUCH MORE abound. That as Sin hath reigned unto death, EVEN SO might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life.'---Rom. v. 21. 'Ye thought evil against me, [said Joseph to his wicked brethren,] BUT GOD MEANT IT UNTO GOOD.'---Gen. xl. 20. 'Surely, the wrath of man shall praise [Glorify] Thee,

and the remainder of wrath shalt Thou restrain.'---Ps. lxvi. 10. Then saith Jesus unto Satan, [the spirit of temptation,] Get thee hence; for it is written, thou shalt worship, [glorify] the Lord THY God, and HIM ONLY shalt thou serve.' ---Mat. iii. 10.

'For a small moment have I Forsaken thee, but with Great Mercies will I gather thee; in a little wrath I hid My face for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have Mercy on thee, saith thy Redeemer.'---Isa. liv. 7, 8. 'The casting away of the Jews is the Reconciling of the World.'---Rom. xi. 11--15. Through the disbelief of the Jews the kingdom of God was come to the Election, (the rest being blinded,) that the whole body of both Jews and Gentiles should thereby ultimately obtain salvation.---11th of Romans.

The conditions of Joseph, Job, and others were finally much exalted through their misfortunes, and it is through the Sufferings of Christ, and consequently also, through the crimes attending those sufferings, that the Glory of salvation to 'All Flesh,' and 'All Kindreds,' of 'the Whole World,' shall follow.---1 Pet. i. 11, iii. 18, &c.

'God is faithful, and will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation, also provide a way of release, that ye may be able to bear it.'--1 Cor. x. 13.

'Tribulation worketh patience, and patience, experience, and experience, hope.'---Rom. v. 3.

'Our unrighteousness commendeth the righteousness of God. The Truth of God hath more abounded through my lie,' (misbelief.)---Rom. iii. 5, 7.

"Evil is to God, what lightning is to light;

Lightning slays one thing, Light makes all things live;
Bear then thy necessary ills with grace;

No positive estate or principle

Is evil,-debtor wholly for its being

And measure to defect,-defect to good.

What God directly makes must e'er be good,
And what is good, in whole, or part, He loves
And must; the others are but off-shoots. Ill
Is limited. What pow'r could form a scheme
Of universal evil, or eternal?"-BAILEY.

What shall we say, then? abound ?-Shall we sin Grace?'-Rom. vi. 1, 15.

OBJECTION.

Shall we continue in sin that Grace may because we are not under law, but under

ANSWER.

'We be slanderously reported, and some [even] affirm that we say, Let us do evil, that good may come : whose condemnation is just.'-iii. 8. Whereas we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom,'---Col. ii. 28, 'Even as our beloved brother Paul also hath written unto you, according to the wisdom given unto him,' --2 Pet. iii. 15, 'Know ye not, that to whomsoever ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are whom ye do obey ?--whether of Sin, unto Death, or of Obedience, unto Righteousness?—When ye were servants of Sin, ye were free from Righteousness. What [good] fruit had ye then, in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end [effect] thereof was death. But now, being made free from Sin, and become servants of God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end thereof, everlasting life. [For, 'he that believeth on Him, HATH everlasting life,-1S PASSED from death unto life,-RECEIVES the end of his faith, even the salvation of his soul.'-John iii, 36, v. 24, 1 Pet. i. 9.]-But, the wages [pay] of Sin, is LEATH; but the gift of God is eternal LIFE, through Jesus Christ our Lord.'-Rom. vi. 16, 21--23.

'Affirming constantly also, that they which believe in [the impartial goodness of God, ought to be careful to maintain good works; for these things, [and these only,] are good and profitable unto men.'-Titus iii. 8; that the Grace of God that bringeth Salvation to All Men which hath appeared, teacheth us to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world.'---ii. 11; that 'we ought to love God, [not in fear of His 'terrors,' and in order to pacify Him, and gain His favor and reward, but] because He first loved us,'--1 John iv. 19; that 'having such great and precious Promises, we should cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh, perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord,'-2 Cor. vii. 1; that we should 'increase and abound in love toward one