ture of bad Actions; and whatever Men may intend, I'm fure no Man can alter the Nature of Things, and therefore can never juftifie himfelf in doing Evil that Good may come.

It is certain, a Wife and Holy God requires no fuch thing of us; and though he very often brings about great and admirable Designs by Mens Sins, yet no Man knows how to do it, nor knows when God will do it; nor did ever any Man, who ventured upon Sin in order to do fome greater Good, ever do the Good he intended, though many times he runs himself into more and greater Sins than ever he intended.

Nay, I dare boldly fay, That no Man ever deliberately ventured upon a known Sin to do fome greater good by it, but there was always fome bafe worldly Intereft at the bottom, coloured over with a pretence of doing Good, either to deceive the World, or fometimes to deceive their own. Confciences. The Church of Rome, among whom there are thofe who teach and practife this Doctrine, are an undeniable Example of it, and we have had too many fad Examples of it nearer Home.

This feems to me one Reafon, why thofe Prophecies which concern future Ages, are ge nerally fo obfcure, that no Man knows when, nor how they fhall be fulfilled, that no Man may be tempted to any Sin to ferve Providence, and to fulfil Prophecies. As obfcure as thefe Prophecies are, yet we fee fome heated Enthufiafts very forward to venture on any thing to fulfil Prophecies, to pull down Antichrift, to fet up the Kingdom of Chrift, especially when they hope to fet up themfelves with him: But God conceals Times and Seafons from us; and

though he many times fulfils Prophecies by the Sins of Men, yet he allows no Man to fin to fulfil Prophecies; and therefore never lets us know when, nor by what means Prophecies fhall be fulfilled. Let us lay down this as a certain Principle, That God needs not our Sins; and that we can never please him by doing Evil, whatever the Event be: He makes ufe of the Sins of Men to ferve his Providence, but he will punish them for their Sins.

CHAP. VII.

The Goodness of Providence.

3. THE next Enquiry is concerning the Goodness of Providence: Though me

thinks it is a more proper Subject for our devout Meditations, than for our Enquiries; for we need not look far to feek for Proofs and Demonftrations of the Divine Goodnefs. The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord: We fee, and feel, and tafte it every day; we owe our Being, our Prefervation, and all the Comforts of our Lives to it. There is not fo mean, nor fo miferable a Creature in this World, but can bear its Teftimony to the Divine Goodness: Nay, if you would pardon the Harfhnefs of the Expreffion, I would venture to fay, That the Goodness of God is one of the greateft Plagues and Torments of Hell; I mean, the remembrance of God's Goodnefs, and their wicked and ungrateful Abuse of it. This is that Worm that never dieth, those sharp Reflections Men make

on

on their Ingratitude and Folly, in making themfelves miferable by affronting that Goodness. which would have made them happy.

Whatever other Objections fome wanton and fporting Wits make againft Providence, one would think it impoffible that any Man who lives in this World, and feels what he enjoys himself, and fees what a bountiful Provifion is made for all Creatures, fhould question the Goodness of Providence, by which be lives, moves, and has his Being. We fhould think him. an extraordinary Benefactor, who did the Thousandth Part for us of what God does ; and should not challenge his Goodness, tho' he did fome Things which we did not like, or did not understand: But Atheism is founded in Ingratitude; and unlefs God humour them, as. well as do them good, he is no God for them. Nay, I cannot but obferve here, the perverse, as well as the ungrateful Temper of Atheists; when they dispute against the Juftice of Providence, then God is much too good for them; tho' he give us Examples enow of his Severity against Sin, yet his Patience and Long-fuffering to fome few profperous Sinners, is thought. a fufficient Argument, that God is not juft, or that he does not govern the World. When they dispute against the Goodness of Providence, then God is not good enough for them: Tho' they fee innumerable Inftances of Goodness in the Government of the World, yet this is not owing to a good God, but to good Fortune; because they think they fee fome of the careless and irregular Strokes of Chance and Fortune intermixt with it, in the many Evils and Calamities of Life. Now it is impoffible for God himself to answer thefe Two ObjećtiR 3

ons,

ons, to the Satisfaction of thefe Men; and that, I think, is a fufficient Anfwer to them both. For fhould God vindicate his Juftice, to the Satisfaction of thefe Men, by Punishing in this World every Sin that is committed, according to its Defert, there would be very little Room for the Exercife of Goodness. If every Man muft fuffer as much as he fins, the very best Men will be great Sufferers, much greater Sufferers than any of them now are, tho' their Sufferings are made another Objection against Providence; and there will be as many formidable Examples of Mifery, as there are Atheifts and Profligate Sinners; and this would be an unanfwerable Objection against the Goodness of Providence: For how good foever God might be, if he muft punish every Sin, he has no Opportunity to fhew his Goodnefs. And on the other Hand, fhould God be as good as thefe Men would have him, that is, that to prove himfelf good, he fhould not inflict any Evils or Calamities on Men, whatever their Sins or Provocations are; that whereas God planted Paradife only for Man in Innocence, the whole World fhould be now a Paradife, tho' there is not an innocent Man in it; this would be as unanswerable an Objection against the Juftice of Providence: So that thefe. Men have taken care always to have an Objection against Providence; for according to their Notions of Juftice and Goodnefs, God cannot be both; which is a certain Demonftration, that they miftake the true Notion of Juftice and Goodnefs; they are both great and excellent Virtues; both are effential to the Idea of God both are neceffary to the good Government of the World; and therefore both of them muft

be

be very confiftent and reconcilable with each other, both in Notion and Practice.

I have already vindicated the Juftice of God's Providence; and there is no great Difficulty in vindicating his Goodness, the Objections against which are founded in plain and evident Miftakes, and therefore will receive an eafy Anfwer. And I fhall firft confider, what the Miftakes are, and then particularly answer the Objections.

1. As for the firft, The Miftakes either relate to the Nature of God's Goodness, or to the Nature of Good and Evil, or to the Goodnefs of Providence and Government.

1. The Mistakes concerning God's Goodnefs And the Fundamental Miftake is this; That Men confider the Goodness of God abfolutely, without relation to the Nature, Quality, or Defert of the Subjects, who are to receive Good. They contemplate Goodness in its abftracted Idea and Notion; and whatever they conceive belongs to the most Perfect Goodness, that they expect from God in the Government of this World; and if they do not find it, they conclude, that the World is not governed by a Good Providence. As for Inftance.

It is certainly an Act of the moft Perfect Goodness, to make all Creatures Happy; not to fuffer any Miseries to enter into the World; and that there be nothing to deface the Beauty, or to disturb the Harmony of it: No Lamentable Sights, nor Doleful Complaints, to move our Pity, nor to terrify us with the Melancholy Prefages of our own Sufferings, nor