Ess. VI.] His Equity. 127 free:" Eph. vi, 8. "God is no respecter of persons; but, in every nation, he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him :" Acts x, 34, 35. "The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. ......Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel! Is not my way EQUAL? Are not your ways unequal?" Ezekiel xviii, 20, 29. The ignorance and rashness of men are manifested in nothing more clearly than in those unmeasured judgments which they are so prone to form one of another; but God, who is absolutely free from partiality, condemns or acquits, punishes or rewards, his creatures, on a perfectly comprehensive view of all those, circumstances by which their guilt is either aggravated or diminished. The more numerous the gifts bestowed, the greater the responsibility incurred: the more abundant the light communicated, the more complete the obedience required. In the history of the poor widow, who threw her last mite into the Lord's treasury, we are furnished with a beautiful exemplification of the apostle's doctrine, that "if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not :" 2 Cor. viii, 12. Nor can we doubt that the very same equitable principle is maintained by the Judge of all flesh, in reference to matters of the highest moment. The man who makes a right use of his single talent is, in the most important point of view, on a par with his neighbour, by whom the five talents are improved. Both shall be made rulers over more -both shall enter into "the joy of their Lord." When Jesus was conversing with the disciples on the subject of divine retribution, he elucidated his doctrine in the following memorable 128 His Goodness and Compassion, [Ess. vi. words-words which may teach us at once to tremble for ourselves, and to abstain from any sweeping condemnation of others, to whom the law of God is less fully revealed-" And that servant which knew his Lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required:" Luke xii, 47, 48. IV. That God is good-abounding in kindness towards his creatures-our bounteous Protector and Father-is a truth to which the Scriptures bear an unequivocal testimony. "The Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works:" Ps. cxlv, 9. "The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord:" Ps. xxxiii, 5. "We also are men of like passions with you," cried Paul to the deluded inhabitants of Lystra, "and preach unto you, that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein; who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways. Nevertheless, he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness:" Acts xiv, 15—17. "He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust:" Matt. v, 45. "God giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not...... Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights :" James i, 5, 17. It is matter of great consolation, that the destitute and afflicted amongst men are, in a peculiar manner, the object of divine tenderness and regard. "A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God Ess. vi.] Especially towards his People. 129 in his holy habitation:" Ps. lxviii, 5. (He) "executeth judgment for the oppressed; (He) giveth food to the hungry; the Lord looseth the prisoners; the Lord openeth the eyes of the blind; the Lord raiseth them that are bowed down...... the Lord preserveth the strangers: he relieveth the fatherless and widow:" Ps. cxlvi, 7-9. "They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way: they found no city to dwell in: hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble; and he delivered them out of their distresses. And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation. Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!" Ps. cvii, 4-8. While, however, the benevolence of God is in many ways exerted towards the whole family of mankind, we are never to forget that it is those who fear the Lord, those who are devoted to his service, those who really belong to his church on earth, who are, in an especial and preeminent manner, the objects of his care and favour. "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust his truth shall be thy shield and buckler:" xci, 1-4. "Who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?" 1 Pet. iii, 13. "But thou, Israel, art my servant, the seed of Abraham my friend. Fear thou not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee: yea, I will help thee: yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness:" 130 Isa. xli, 8, 10. Pain and Affliction [Ess. VI. "Fear not, little flock; for it is your pleasure to give you the kingdom:" The rewards bestowed upon the righteous form one essential part of that retributive system which I have already noticed as evincing the justice of the Deity. Here, however, it ought to be observed, that, although the wicked deserve the wrath of the Lord, the most righteous among men are far indeed from having any claim, in themselves, on the happiness which he condescends to bestow upon them. It is his own goodness which follows them; and of that goodness they are utterly unworthy. After they have done all which he commands them, they are "unprofitable servants;" for "who hath first given" unto the Lord that it should be recompensed unto him again?" Let us observe the distinction-"The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord:" Rom. vi, 23. Such are the descriptions presented to us in Holy Writ of the benevolence and bounty of the Deity. Now, we know that the creatures of God are many of them endued with exquisite sensibility-that, while their frame is adapted to delightful and pleasurable sensations, it is also liable to pain. Bodily pain and a certain degree, we may presume, of mental suffering are often endured, even by the beasts of the field and the birds of the air; and, with respect to man, his capacity of suffering pain is large in proportion to his other powers. He is the child, not only of pleasure and joy, but of perplexity, affliction, and tribulation. He is "born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward!" Job v, 7. This subject, like that of the existence of moral evil, is not without its mysteriousness; but, that, between the pains suffered under particular circumstances by Ess. vi.] Permitted or Ordained, 131 the creatures, and the benevoleuce of the Creator, there is no real inconsistency, a scriptural view of the case will presently convince us. With respect, in the first place, to the inferior animals, the sacred writers occasionally advert to their frail and perishing nature, Ps. xlix, 12: but they are far more frequently occupied in contemplating their strength, their beauty, and their happiness: Job xxxix-xli: Ps. civ. On this branch of the subject, then, it may suffice to observe, that the sensitiveness of these animals is productive of so vast a quantity of pleasure, and of so little pain in the comparison, as to afford an almost unmixed evidence of the benevolence of their maker; and, unquestionably, the pain which such perishing creatures sometimes endure, although calculated to excite compassion in the feeling mind, is permitted for some wise and gracious, though unknown, purpose. With respect to the more intelligent creatures of God, all the suffering which they endure may reasonably be regarded, as I have found occasion to remark in a former Essay, as the direct or indirect consequences of sin. That such, more especially, is the fact, as it relates to death, that most powerful afflicter of humanity, we may learn from the apostle Paul; for it is generally allowed that he spoke of natural as well as spiritual death, when he said, "By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:" Rom. 5, 12. Now, it is a singular proof of the goodness, as well as the wisdom, of God, that the pains and afflictions of mortals, the direct or indirect consequences of sin, are so overruled for good, that they are often the means of curing that every evil out of which they originate. We learn from the Scriptures, that they are directed by an all-wise and beneficent Deity to the great and good purpose of moral proba |