human nature it was, that some of the ancient philosophers represented the Deity as a capricious cruel being, who delighted in, and sported with the sufferings and miseries of his creatures; as they could not reconcile the notion of infinite goodness and mercy in the governor of the world with that universal face of calamity which overspread it. But, blessed be God, our holy religion teaches us a far more consolatory doctrine, teaches us the divine art of turning even our bitterest trials into the most wholesome cordials. In discoursing from this subject, I shall, first, briefly illustrate the proposition contained in the text, then enquire into the more obvious causes and ends for which the Almighty lays his afflicting hand on men; and, lastly, point out the improvement we ought to make of dispensations of this sort. I am,

First, briefly to illustrate the proposition contained in the text, namely, that " the Lord doth "not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of "men;" and this will appear, first, from the consideration of the general and ordinary method of procedure in God's government of the world. We see, from every day's observation, that God does not immediately punish, nor in the degree they deserve, the offences of even the worst of men;

on the contrary, we frequently see the highest acts of mercy and goodness returned for the highest, the most daring instances of impiety and disregard for the great Author of nature. What man would bear from his fellow so much and so long, as the great and omnipotent God every day bears at the hand of frail, impotent, presumptuous mortals, whom his power could crush in a moment; that God who is vested with the awful prerogative of destroying both soul and body in hell for ever?-We, frail sons of a day, are for snatching at every opportunity of wreaking our vengeance on those whom we imagine have injured us; but God pities, and desires to reclaim even the wretch who dares openly and avowedly to trample upon his authority, yea, who has the hardiness to attack, as much as impotence can, his sacred person and character. Why does God delay the execution of that awful sentence," He that is unjust, let him be un"just still; and he that is filthy, let him be filthy "still?" Why, but because God punishes us much less than our iniquities deserve; why, but to prove in the most endearing manner, that so far from "afflicting willingly," so far from unnecessarily grieving the children of men, he in the most tender compassion to them suspends the punishment even where it is due, in order to

afford them space for repentance.-Farther, of all the characters of the Deity under which he is pleased to exhibit himself to us, there is none he seems so much to delight in, as that of good and merciful: indeed the whole united scheme of creatíon, providence, and redemption, is one continued display of these darling, these endearing attributes. When he would give us a description of himself, it is mercy, mercy in all the different ways of expression: "The Lord, the Lord God, "merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and "abundant in goodness and truth;"-" Shew"ing mercy unto thousands, forgiving iniquity, "transgression, and sin."-" I am he that blot"teth out thy transgressions, and will remem"ber thy sins no more." Add to all this, the express, the repeated declarations he so often condescends to make to this purpose:"Let the wicked forsake his ways, and the un<< righteous man his thoughts, and let him return "unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. The mountains shall depart, and the " hills be removed, but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of "my peace be removed, saith the Lord, that hath

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mercy upon thee." Can a woman forget "her sucking child, that she should not have

"compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they

may forget, yet will not I forget thee." And that there may be no room to doubt, he is graciously pleased to confirm it with an oath: " Say "unto them, as I live, saith the Lord God, I "have no pleasure in the death of the wicked ; "but that the wicked may turn from his way " and live." Hence, likewise, those expressions of grief, and reluctance to punish when the sins of nations, or of individuals, have rendered punishment absolutely necessary; as in that by the prophet Isaiah: " Why should ye be stricken.

any more? ye will revolt more and more;" or that tender and affectionate exclamation: How "shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how shall I de"liver thee, Israel? how shall I make thee as "Adonah? how shall I set thee as Zeboim? My "heart is turned within me, my repentings are "kindled together." Surely, then, we have the greatest reason to conclude with the prophet; "the Lord doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve "the children of men." I am to enquire

Secondly, into the more obvious causes and ends for which the Almighty lays his afflicting hand upon the children of men. The first and most obvious cause, and which indeed is the ground of all, is sin, " that evil and abominable

thing which the Lord hateth," and cannot overlook even in those he loves best: that fatal leprosy has overspread the whole earth, wherever there are men, there also is guilt, and consequently there must be also punishment. "Wherefore," then, " doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins ?" There is a peculiar beauty in that question in the context; it seems to imply this:-" Dost thou still live, "oh man! has God been so gracious as yet to spare thee in spite of all thy provocations

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against him? art thou still out of hell, the just "reward of all thy wickedness? and darest thou "to murmur at a little temporary punishment, "which, had strict justice been rendered thee, "should have been infinite and eternal? how "canst thou presume to complain, when God

punishes thee so much less than thy iniquities "deserve?" Most of the miseries which befal men, are, indeed, the natural, the necessary consequence of sin, though we do not consider the interposition of a righteous governor of the world. Thus we see remorse and beggary necessarily follow extravagance and prodigality. Intemperance is constantly accompanied with diseases. Infamy and contempt are the ordinary and natural reward of falsehood and fraud: these vices have in their own nature a tendency to produce such ef