sister,' turns his eye to these wonderful promises, and to the immense assemblage of blessings which they convey; he is naturally lost in amazement, and prepared to believe them only in a loose and general manner. Scarcely can he persuade himself that they are not the language of bold and sublime exaggeration, of ardent and daring hyperbole, rather than sober communications of simple truth. Were the rewards promised as the result of his own obedience, well might he doubt. But when he remembers, that God has not spared his own Son, but delivered him up for us all,' he cannot, if he would act rationally, fail to unite with the Apostle in exclaiming, How shall he not with him also freely give us all things?' The benevolence necessary to the origination and the communication of these blessings, is in this event proved beyond a question.

In the Omniscience of God we are presented with ample ability to contrive, and in his Omnipotence with ample ability to accomplish, every part of this amazing sum of good. To Him who willed the universe into being, it is equally easy to create great enjoyments as little, many as few, endless as momentary. The vast system of good which he has promised, he can call into existence in a moment, with the same ease with which he can create an insect or an atom. Whatever he gives, his store cannot be lessened; nor can a preceding communication of good be with Him a reason for refusing, or neglecting to communicate again. Immeasurably bountiful, he can never be weary of giving: immeasurably powerful, he can never be weary of providing.

From the Omnipotence of God every righteous man may then confidently expect a final deliverance from all his enemies, sorrows and sins, from death and the grave, from future perdition and eternal woe. He may be certainly assured, that the same glorious and everlasting Friend will communicate to him, and to his fellow-christians, immortal life; will enlarge their minds with increasing knowledge, will improve them with evergrowing virtue, and supply them with endlessly advancing happiness.

5. How great and glorious does God appear, as invested with Almighty power.

Great is the Lord,' says the Psalmist, and greatly to be praised. One generation shall praise thy works to another,

All thy works praise thee,

and shall declare thy mighty acts. oh Lord; and thy saints shall bless thee. They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power. Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.' 'Canst thou,' says Zophar, 'by searching find out God? Canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? It is high as heaven, what canst thou do? Deeper than hell, what canst thou know? The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea.' Who hath measured the waters,' says Isaiah, in the hollow of his hand; and meted out heaven with a span; and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure; and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?"

The Being who made, upholds and governs, the universe, discloses in these acts his own proper character; a character infinitely greater and more glorious than the highest creature can sustain or comprehend. All beings are before him as nothing, and justly accounted unto him less than nothing, and vanity.'

We were not, indeed, present at the birth of this wonderful work. We did not behold the boundless midnight enlightened with suns, or the desolate wilds of immensity filled with worlds and their inhabitants. We did not hear the morning stars sing together, and the sons of God shout for joy.' But in the history of the creation, dictated by the voice of God, we are presented with such sublime views of this amazing subject, as stretch our imagination to the utmost, and fill our understanding with astonishing ideas. In the same work, as it is daily seen by our eyes, we discern wonders surpassing number and measure, and gloriously illustrating the Power by which all are accomplished. In the history of past events also, in the deluge, the destruction of Sodom, the wonders of Egypt, of Sinai, and of Canaan; in the miracles of the prophets, of Christ, and of the apostles; are such manifestations of Almighty power as cannot fail to astonish every mind, and fill every heart with the most awful apprehensions of its Maker.

In the daily providence of God, we are also witnesses of the amazing effects of his Omnipotence. In the rising and setting of the sun, and the revolutions of the heavens, we behold a hand whose exertions disclaim all limit. We hear him also 'thundering marvellously with his voice;' we see him sending

120 OMNIPOTENCE AND INDEPENDENCE OF GOD. SER. VII.

forth lightnings with rain,' making the earth to tremble, and the mountains to fall; pouring out rivers of fire from the volcano, and whelming cities and countries in a general conflagration.

On the other hand, what pleasing and glorious proofs of the same power are exhibited in its softer and gentler, its less awful, but not less solemn exertions through the circuit of the seasons: in the spring, particularly, when God appears as the light of the morning when the sun ariseth, even of a morning without clouds; and as the clear shining of the sun after rain, upon the tender herb of the field.' Then, with a hand eminently attractive and wonderful, he diffuses life and warmth, and beauty and glory, over the face of the world; and from the death of winter, bids all things awake with a general and delightful resurrection. The successive seasons are replete with successive wonders, wrought by the same almighty hand.

Day unto day, indeed, uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge,' concerning this great subject. He who does not mark these astonishing disclosures, made in heaven and in earth, in ten thousand and ten million forms, must be a brute; and he who, surveying them, does not regard God as infinitely wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working,' has indeed eyes, but he sees not; ears, but he cannot hear; and a heart, but he cannot understand.' Every good man, on the contrary, must admire and adore Him, who doeth all these things;' must rejoice with humble gratitude and divine joy, in all the stupendous displays of his goodness; must tremble at the 'terrible things' which he doeth in righteousness, when his judgments are abroad in the earth;' and must on every occasion be ready to exclaim, Who is like unto thee, oh Lord? glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders.'

SERMON VIII.

BENEVOLENCE OF GOD,

PROVED FROM

THE WORKS OF CREATION AND PROVIDENCE,

FOR GOD IS LOVE.-I JOHN IV. 8.

HAVING considered the existence and the natural attributes of God at some length, I shall now proceed to the next subject of theological inquiry; viz. his moral attributes. In the order best suited to the method of discussion which I have preferred, that which first offers itself for examination is his Benevolence.

manner.

This perfection is ascribed to God in the text, in a singular It is not asserted, that God is benevolent, but that he is Benevolence; or that Benevolence is the essence, the sum, of his being and character. The force and beauty of this assertion will be felt by every one who attends to it, withremarks from me.

out

any

That Ayan signifies the kind of love which in English is called Benevolence, will not I persume be questioned. If any one is at a loss concerning this fact, he may be satisfied by reading St. Paul's extensive definition of this word, contained in the 13th chapter of the first Epistle to the Corinthians.

In canvassing this important subject, I propose to inquire in what manner it is exhibited to us,

I. By Reason; and II. By Revelation.

I. I propose to inquire in what manner it is exhibited to us by Reason.

In examinining this part of the subject I shall, first, allege several arguments furnished by Reason, in proof of the Benevolence of God; and, secondly, Answer the principal Objections to this Doctrine.

The importance of the question, Whether God is a Benevolent Being, is no less than infinite. Every thing therefore which seriously affects it, must be of high moment to every intelligent creature. The decisions of Reason on this subject undoubtedly affect the question in a serious manner, and are of course very interesting to us. Although I can by no means admit, with many of my fellow-men, respectable for their understanding and worth, that the Benevolence of God is not capable of being completely proved, or that it is not in fact completely proved by the Scriptures, independently of all other sources of argument; yet I cannot help believing, that if the proof furnished by Reason be satisfactory also, and can be fairly exhibited as satisfactory, the minds of many men at least will rest on this subject with a conviction more unmingled, a confidence less exposed to danger and disturbance. To compass this object, if it can be compassed, will then be very desirable.

It is hardly necessary for me to observe, that the question concerning the amount of the evidence which Reason gives concerning this doctrine, has long been and is still disputed. It is well known to many of this audience, that Divines and other Christians, as well as other men, differ in their opinions about it; and that the proofs of the Divine benevolence from Reason are regarded by many persons of reputation as insufficient. I have myself entertained, heretofore, opinions on this subject, different from those which I now entertain. As I have not seen it discussed in such a manner as satisfied my own wishes, I shall now consider it with more particularity than might otherwise be necessary.

The Self-existence, Eternity, Immutability, Omnipresence, Omniscience, and Omnipotence of God, have, I flatter myself, been clearly proved by arguments derived from Reason. From these attributes it has I trust been unanswerably evinced,