as to be affected only by the pure overplus of the former. Now, undoubtedly, God has this perfect comprehension: he sees at one view both the beginning and the end; both all causes, and all their remotest effects. Before his eye all real evil vanishes. Among his infinite works, he beholds nothing but unmixed, and eternal and eternally increasing happiness.*...

BUT notwithstanding all that has been advanced, there may be some, who will still pertinaciously adduce, as an objection to the Divine goodness, the doctrine of future punishments as revealed in the Gospel. This objection has been often stated, and, I am sorry to say, has often received addi

Upon this subject, the reader will find some excellent remarks in HARTLEY'S OBSERVATIONS ON MAN.-In that work there are many speculations which I think are extremely fanciful; but, upon the whole, it is certainly an invaluable performance, and cannot be too carefully perused by the reJigious philosopher,

-HARTLEY!-He of mortal kind

Wisest; he first who mark'd the ideal tribes

Up the fine fibres thro' the sentient brain.

COLERIDGE'S Poems, p. 145.—2a edit,

tional strength from the many injudicious and unsatisfactory replies which have been made to it: for, when an argument is ill answered, it is apt to assume the appearance of being unanswerable. But I think that the whole force of this objection, so frequently and so triumphantly urged, may be completely destroyed by the following observations, which are founded both on natural and revealed religion.

RECOLLECT that the future punishments of the wicked, whatever they may be, are as yet to us unknown. The Scriptures usually describe them in figurative language, which, of course, must be somewhat obscure and ambiguous, and of the same nature with the language of prophecy, which is never fully understood till the event explains it. We must, therefore, wait for the event, before we can form any just judgment of a future state of punishment. Till then, all objections to the goodness of God, raised upon this ground, must appear to every reflecting and judicious mind unreasonable, and as such be totally rejected. Of the state of future rɛwards, it is said by an inspired writer,

that it doth not yet appear what it shall be. Now, the same holds true of the state of future punishments it doth not yet appear what it shall be. But of this we may all be certain, that its calamity, whatever be its extent, cannot be greater than what is perfectly consistent with the gracious character of the Supreme Being, and absolutely necessary to maintain the order, and promote the ends of his benevolent govern& Tisdi bus yowod

ment.

AND this leads me to mention here, what I have mentioned before, that plain, direct, and postive proofs have been already given of the goodness of God; and that, therefore, such an undeniable truth cannot be relinquished merely on account of certain difficulties. As fair reasoners, we ought rather to conclude that all difficulties of this kind are only apparent, not real, and that they would utterly vanish, had we a more enlarged and comprehensive view of things.

REMEMBER, too, that future punishments are not to be considered as the infiction of mere arbitrary power; but as a

necessary consequence of the present con stitution of the universe; for such is the baleful nature of vice, that it must occasion suffering: it must derange and mar all the powers of the mind, and prevent the enjoyment of those many pure unspeakable pleasures, which are the natural and peculiar produce of virtue. All those, then, who are to be condemned, shall reap only the proper fruit of their own doings: and their sufferings, however pungent, and however long, cannot possibly be greater than what is perfectly consistent with infinite goodness, directed by infinite wisdom.God has been always good; he shews himself to be good still; and we are, therefore, bound, from the immutability of his nature, to infer, that to every creature his goodness will continue, in some way or other, henceforth and for evermore. Accordingly, we are led to believe, that at the last day, when judgment shall be pronounced,

every mouth shall be stopped."-Stopped not by outward violence; but by inward conviction. Heaven and earth; all rational beings shall assent to the equity of the sentence, and see it to be perfectly necessary to preserve the order, and promote

the felicity of the universe. O thou eternal God, how great is thy goodness! Thou art good even when thou afflictest. Thy goodness, like thyself, is from everlasting to everlasting!

SUCH is the nature of the Divine goodness, and such the evidence which we have for believing in it. Let us now then consider some of the important conclusions which most naturally follow from this truly pleasing and profitable subject. These conclusions respect either the other moral attributes of God, or that temper and practice, which become us, his rational offspring.

1. LET us consider those conclusions which we should draw from this subject, concerning THE OTHER MORAL ATTRIBUTES OF THE DEITY.-They may all be viewed as so many different modifications of his Goodness. What, for instance, is his Mercy? It is his invariable disposition to commisserate and relieve the wretched and guilty; to supply their wants; to heal their diseases; to alleviate their pains, and