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who has begun the good work will carry it on,-that he will never leave you, and never forsake you,-that he will be with you in trouble to support and deliver you, and that he will make all the circumstances of your lot work together for your good. How comfortable in the hour of affliction, and in the hour of death, to have the truth and the faithfulness of the God of all grace to rely upon; and to hear from this God the animating promise, "When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee; when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee."

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CHAPTER VIII.

ON THE GOODNESS OF GOD

No question can be so interesting as that which concerns the benevolence of Him who made all things, who possesses the awful attributes of omnipotence, eternity, and immutability. The question is not the less deeply interesting that there are many appearances in his works, and many things which fall within our own experience, that seem to be irreconcileable with the infinite goodness of God. What is the life of man but a series of sorrows and afflictions, of cares and disappointments? And though he may occasionally have some hours of sunshine, when enjoyment makes him forget the many ills to which he is born, yet, on the whole, may it not with truth be said, that his days are few and evil?" If we behold any thing irregular in the works of man, if any machine answer not the purpose it was made for, if we find something in it repugnant to itself or others; we attribute that to the impotence, ignorance, or malice of the workmen; but, since these qualities have no place in God, how come they to have place in his works*?”

To this question, perhaps, no answer entirely satisfactory can be given. The subject is attended with difficulties-difficulties which may not be altogether removed in the present life. In every attempt to illustrate the goodness of God in regard to our world, we must remember throughout that man is guilty, and that he is deserving of punishment in consequence of

* King's Origin of Evil, p. 72.

sin. If the question were, can you prove from the procedure of God toward our world, that he is infinitely benevolent, on the supposition that mankind are now, as to purity and innocence, what they were when they at first came from the hand of the Creator, I must answer in the negative. But if the question be, what that procedure ought to be, on the supposition that man is in a state of apostacy, rebellion, and guilt, can you shew from the conduct of God in regard to him, that he is infinitely good, I answer in the affirmaative; and shall now proceed to state the arguments suggested by reason and revelation for the goodness of God. I shall afterwards more fully state the objec tions to his goodness, and endeavour to obviate them.

CHAPTER IX.

THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED.

HERE it may be proper to ascertain what we mean by the goodness of God. While the essential holiness and blessedness of God are included in the term, we particularly understand by it his benevolence and bounty. His goodness is his inclination to deal well and bountifully with his creatures; to diffuse happiness; to delight in its contemplation. It is not a blind instinct, but the disposition and will of a free, wise, powerful, and independent God. And how pleasing and consolatory is the thought, that this is the character of the true and living God,—the God in whose hands our breath is, and whose are all our

ways. If he has not called the universe into existence for the sole end of communicating happiness to its living inhabitants, this at least appears to have been one of his main designs in its creation; and in the scene which surrounds us, full of life and enjoyment, we see the result of divine benevolence, and he best illustration of the truth of that retrospective Judgment, which God is said to have uttered respecting his works; " and God saw every thing that he had made, and behold it was very good."

In considering the divine benevolence with any degree of accuracy, we must take for granted the holiness, justice, and wisdom of God,—that is, that he possesses moral as well as natural perfections, and that, therefore, he governs his intelligent offspring with an ultimate reference to their moral as well as to their physical good. This view of the subject accords with the uniform course of providential arrangement, which evinces the existence of a supreme moral government, of the free agency and accountableness of man, and which forces us to regard the invariableness with which virtue is productive of happiness, and vice of misery, as an expression of the will and appointment of the Creator. In communicating happiness, therefore, we must believe that he imparts it in the order, and to the extent, which his wisdom and his moral excellences prescribe. His beneficence, indeed, like his nature and attributes, is unbounded; but if we can suppose that its unmingled communication in any case were incompatible with the attainment of moral good, and opposed to the designs of his righteous govern

ment, we must surely conclude, that, if such a case were to exist, the divine goodness in regard to it would not be fully exercised.

Such a case does exist in our world, in the apostacy, rebellion, and guilt of man. Why it has been permitted to exist, is another question, and one to which we may afterwards attend. But what I at present contend for is, that the continued exercise of the divine goodness towards beings in such a state of blameworthiness, and displayed in securing to them so much enjoyment with so little suffering, is a most affecting proof that the goodness of God is infinite in its nature, unwearied in its active exertions, and that it can assume the form of compassion and mercy to the sinful. The Holy Scriptures assure us that God is good, that he is love, and that he commendeth his love towards us while we are sinners; and the more we extend our survey of his works and his ways, the more satisfied we become of the truth of this impressive statement.

Our conviction will, no doubt, in this, as in every similar case, be influenced by our own individual experience. The youthful and the happy, whose life is a succession of pleasing sensations, will have little difficulty in admitting the position, that God is good, infinitely good. On them, all nature smiles: they live but to enjoy; they move amid the profusion of delights which the bounty of Providence has afforded them, ignorant of the extent of evil which others of their fellow-creatures are doomed to suffer. How natural is it for such persons, especially if they possess much moral excellency, to ascribe infinite benevolence

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