not taken place, and there will be much lefs good in the univerfe forever than there might have been had they, been prevented; then there is no God to be loved, and be the object of benevolent, friendly affection, which fhall be completely pleafed and fatisfied in him. For he must be either impotent and dependent, and unable to effect that which is moft agreeable to wisdom and goodness, and therefore is disappointed and croffed, if he be wife and good; or he has no wifdom or goodness, though he is omnipotent, and fo has fuffered that to take place which was not beft on the whole, that it fhould exift, and is contrary to benevolence and wisdom, when he was able to prevent it, if he pleased. If the latter were true, all must acknowledge he could not be the object of love, of benevolent, friendly affection. And if the former, and not the latter, were true, all must be fenfible that he could not be an object with which benevolent affection can be pleased and satisfied: but if it were exercised towards him, it must be in pity and grief for him, and inextinguishable forrow that he was not able to lay and profecute the best plan without interruption, but is dependent, difappointed and croffed, and moft unhappy, and must be so forever! The benevolent friends to fuch a Being, and to benevolence, must be crossed and miferable, in proportion to the degree of their benevolence, while the enemies to fuch a Being, were it poffible there could be fuch an one, which, blessed be God! it is not, would be gratified and triumph. And as fuch a Being must be infinitely less important and glorious, he must be an infinitely lefs worthy object of benevolence, than he whom the truth we are vindicating describes.

And furely every one who attends properly must see that, on this laft fuppofition, fuch a Being could not be the object of the complacency and delight of a benevolent heart. This is clear, from what has been faid refpecting benevolence: for pious, holy complacency and delight in an object or character, is nothing different from the fatisfaction and pleasure which benevolence has in that being or character. Therefore if there be any thing

in

in a being contrary and difpleafing to benevolence, and opposed to what that feeks, it must be equally opposed to complacency and delight, and contrary to it. To fuppofe the contrary is a flat contradiction.

It is equally apparent that the God who is exhibited in our text, as it has been now understood and explained, must be the first and highest object of complacential love, as it has been fhewn that he is fuited to gratify and please benevolence to the highest degree; for the pleasure which the benevolent heart takes in any object, is the fame with complacence and delight in that object, as has been juft now obferved. Therefore that being or character with which the benevolent heart is moft pleafed and gratified, is the fupreme object of complacential love.

The benevolent heart must be pleafed with unbounded, infinite benevolence, clothed with omnipotence, fixing and executing an endlefs plan, including the higheft poffible good, in which God will be glorified in the highest degree, and his fervants and kingdom moft happy and glorious forever, and which admits no evil but that which is neceffary to anfwer the beft end, and pro'mote the greatest good, and render the fyftem, the univerfal plan, infinitely better, more wife and beautiful, than it could be, were the evil excluded. Such a Being, of unchangeable perfection, infinite benevolence, wisdom, rectitude, truth and faithfulness, muft be embraced by the benevolent heart, with the warmest and moft ftrong affection; he must be chofen as the fupreme good, as the object of the higheft complacence and delight. God is exhibited to fuch a mind as fuch a Being, and in this amiable light, in forming and executing fuch a plan, comprehending all poflible good, and includ ing every thing that exifts, and every event that shall take place to eternity; being exactly fuited, in every respect, to manifeft and difplay the divine perfection and glory, in the felicity and glory of his eternal kingdom, and which could not be altered, in the leaft degree, without rendering it lefs perfect and good. On

this Being, and on fuch a fyftem, including all things that exift, or fhall take place on this abfolutely and infinitely perfect Being, and his all-perfect work, the pious mind will dwell with increasing fatisfaction and ever fresh delight forever and ever. But were there no unchangeable God, abfolutely independent and fovereign, and doing whatfoever he pleafes, forming and executing the wifeft and beft plan of operation to eternity, and including and fixing every event, there would be no fuch object of fupreme affection and delight to the pious, benevolent mind, to be embraced with unreferved love, and unlimited or unalloyed fatisfaction and pleafure. Yea, were this God and his plan of operation capable of any poffible alteration or change, to eternity, it would give pain to the benevolent heart, and be an eternal impediment to perfect love and happinefs.

The perfon whofe heart is wholly felfifh, and knows not what difinterested love means, and whofe mind is confequently contracted down to his own little self, and fixed on his own perfonal concerns, does not extend his thoughts and affections to thofe grand objects, the glo ry of God, and the greateft general good of the universe. He really loves nothing but himfelf; and he cannot be pleafed with a God on whom he is wholly dependent, unless he knows, or thinks he knows, that he is wholly devoted to his intereft, and will accomplish all his felfifty defires and wishes. He must be displeased with, he muft hate, a God who is of one mind, and cannot be turned by him; who has fixed his plan of working, including every thing that takes place; and who is unchangeably feeking the greateft general good of the univerfe, however inconfiftent this may be with his particular interest and happiness; and who will not regard that, but give it up, whenever the greatest public good requires it; peing determined, without a poffibility of change, to punish forever every perfevering enemy to his character and government. Such a creature cannot love any God, unless he will conform to his will, and is, in fome measure at leaft, dependent on him, and waits on him

to

to know what he will choofe and do, independent of God, before he can determine any thing refpecting him; fo that he himself shall independently turn the scale in every thing that concerns himself; and God muft attend him as his tool or fervant, to confult his interest, and answer his ends. The language of his heart is, "I would not have a God abfolutely independent, and unchangeable in his designs and decrees, refpecting me and my intereft. What is the glory of God, and the general good, to me, if my own perfonal intereft and happiness be not regarded and included; if my felfifh inclination and will be not gratified, but croffed? I cannot love fuch a God." Directly the reverse of this is the feeling and language of the benevolent heart, which has been reprefented above.

I proceed to confider love as it is exercifed and expreffed in gratitude; and to fhew that the God of the Bible, who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will, and is executing a plan in the moft wife manner, fuited to answer the beft end, and which comprehends all his works, and every event through endlefs duration, that this God is the proper, infinite object of the pious, everlafting gratitude of a benevolent heart. Benevolence or goodnefs, exercised and expreffed, is the only object of true, pious gratitude, and therefore it is found no where but in a benevolent heart, or, which is the fame, in those who are friends to disinterested benevolence. The love of gratitude is effential to difinterested benevolence of a creature, as it is included in the very nature of it, as is the love of complacence, as has been fhown. Wherever the benevolent mind fees the exercife of benevolence by any being, he is not merely pleased with it, but exercises gratitude towards that Being, and that whether he himself be the object of that benevolence, or any other being in the universe. For the benevolent man is a friend to univerfal being, capable of good; he wishes well to all: therefore, he who regards the good of being in general, and promotes the general good, or expreffes his benevolence by doing

good

good to any particular being, is the proper object of grateful love, and fuch benevolence is fuited to excite it, and certainly will do it in every benevolent heart. It hence appears, that as the truth in our text is suited to excite the love of benevolence and complacency to the highest degree, as has been fhewn, it will alfo excite true gratitude; and that every thing contrary to this truth, is opposed to the pious love of gratitude.

When the benevolent mind fees Infinite Benevolence defigning and effecting the greatest poffible good to being in general, and promoting the greatest happiness of the whole, who is good unto all, and his tender mercies are over all his works," and beholds him decreeing and doing, and caufing to be done, every thing that is neceflary to answer and effectually fecure this end, this eternal purpose; he finds unbounded scope for the higheft and most sweet gratitude to this Infinitely Good Being, who is glorifying himfelf to the highest degree, and producing the greateft poffible happiness in the created univerfe forever. He gives thanks to God for his infinite goodness manifefted in his works, and in his revealed defign and fixed plan, including his own glory, and the higheft good of the created univerfe. His mind is enraptured in gratitude to God for his regard and benevolence to the fum of all being, Himfelf, the firft and the laft, the Almighty, in that he has made all things for himself, for his own glory, and is unalterably determined, and infinitely engaged, to glorify himself by all his works, and by all creatures, and in conjunction. with this to effect the greateft poffible happiness of the creation. This manifeftation of the divine holiness, and infinite benevolence, is the greateft, the fupreme object of the gratitude and thankfulness of the pious, benevolent heart.

And when the pious, good man attends to the infinitely guilty and wretched ftate into which mankind have fallen, and how exceeding odious and vile they are, being total and obftinate enemies to God, his law and government, and violently oppofed to all his be

nevolent