But I would further maintain the doctrine, that all things exist according to the divine counsel and foreordination, from the uniformity and certainty which characterise all things. In the natural world, this uniformity has always been observed. It may be seen amidst the greatest variety in the regular return of day and night, of cold and heat, of summer and winter, of seed-time and harvest.

It is also to be seen well as in that of

in the conduct of free agents as the inferior animals. The liberty which consists in acting without rule, and without end, would be no privilege to a rational creature. The ever-blessed God, who is most free, has the glory of his nature and attributes as his end. We may confidently pronounce that the acts of his government will be hereafter what they have always been, holy, just, and good. It is impossible that he can ever do any thing but what accords with the boundless perfection of his nature. He cannot lie, he cannot deny himself;-he cannot but support the authority of his government and laws, because his throne is founded in justice and in judgment. Now, in proportion as any creature resembles the Creator in his moral attributes, will be the resemblance in his moral conduct.

The angels of light, because they are holy, are not at liberty to do evil, and are incapable of committing it. If we heard a deed of atrocity imputed to them, we should at once pronounce the imputation false, just because the high excellency of their nature gives us an unlimited confidence and an absolute certainty, that their conduct will be invariably holy and benefiWe know that the fallen angels, on the other

cent.

hand, from the depravity of their nature, are predisposed to what is evil, and so strong is our conviction of their moral incapacity to do good, that we could not credit any testimony that would go to ascribe goodness to them. Mankind may be considered as holding an intermediate state between angels of light and those of darkness. They have fallen from their original state of holiness and innocency, but they have been placed under an economy of mercy, under which pardon and reconciliation are offered to the penitent through a Mediator. There is less uniformity in their conduct, especially in the earlier stages of the Christian life, just because there are opposite principles contending in their nature, and rendering them more variable as the one or the other predominates. But this variability is diminished in the aged saint, who has, during sixty or seventy years, been making progress in the graces and attainments of the heavenly life. We cannot suspect him guilty of the deed of atrocity committed in his neighbourhood, because we know that his habits of piety and virtue have been fully formed and confirmed. And the general surprise which is felt when any such person falls into open sin, is a proof how closely and inseparably, according to universal belief, the conduct of the life accords with the state of the heart. On the other hand, what is our conviction regarding the man who has been profligate in youth, hardened in wickedness in mature years, and remains under the unsubdued dominion of sin in old age? It is, that he is incapable of doing good, and will readily and most certainly commit evil. When this individual has reached the point of

hopeless and confirmed depravity, we can pronounce with absolute certainty beforehand, what will be the line of conduct he will follow.

Now, the conclusion I would deduce from all this is, that if we, whose powers and experience are so limited, can speak with so much certainty of the line of conduct which free agents will pursue, with what absolute precision does He foresee this conduct who knows perfectly the state of the heart, who can most accurately estimate the nature and the force of its desires, and whose judgment is according to truth. If we can say of a thousand individuals perfectly holy, or of a thousand individuals perfectly depraved, that they will yield to a certain motive when presented to them, just because the state of their hearts is alike, must not the all-seeing God, before whom all things are naked and open, have the most absolute foreknowledge of the conduct of his accountable creatures, and consequently have been capable from eternity of forming his purposes without any interference with their free agency? If our knowing, with undoubted certainty, that a man confirmed in wickedness will continue to do wickedly does in no way influence him, why should it be supposed that the perfect knowledge which God has of the conduct he will exhibit through an endless existence should in any way affect his moral agency?

But that the knowledge of God of all beings and events is most perfect, and that they exist in exact accordance with his pleasure, is further evident, from the consideration of the perfections of his nature. have already seen that, as the being and presence of

We

God are boundless, so his knowledge is infinite: he is everywhere, and knows every thing. As inhabiting eternity, and as possessing every attribute negative of imperfection, he must have a perfect knowledge of all that can take place in an endless duration. He has created all things, and for his pleasure they are and they were created. His will alone has given existence to moral or voluntary agents, with all their powers and faculties, and with the full knowledge of all the actions which these beings in the possession of such powers and faculties would produce. To suppose that God acted without design in his works, is to suppose that he acted without wisdom; and to suppose that he was unable to secure the certain accomplishment of his design, is to deny his omnipotence, an attribute which the existence of the universe proves him to possess. The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary: there is no searching of his understanding. To say that the end which God had in view in his works was not eternal, that it is not so comprehensive as to reach to all beings and events, or, that it does not possess infinite value as being infinitely good, or, that there can be any difficulty in its accomplishment, is at once to deny the eternity, the omniscience, the goodness, the power, and the infinite perfection of God. We must either admit the doctrine, that all things exist in accordance with the divine plan and purpose, or be forced to acknowledge that God is limited in his attributes, and a being dependant and mutable.

But this doctrine will acquire additional proof from

the consideration of God's dominion and sovereignty. We have seen, on a former occasion, that this dominion is most absolute; that the difference in our several endowments, the circumstances of our lot, the means of virtue and of knowledge, of happiness here and hereafter, are all to be ascribed to the sovereign disposal of God. "He does in the armies of heaven, and among the inhabitants of this world that which seemeth good in his sight; none can stay his arm from working, or say unto him, what doest thou?"" He is the supreme Lord and Governor, and all things must necessarily lie under his control. We are governed according to a certain plan, admirably adapted to our character and condition as apostate creatures; but this plan, which is as comprehensive as the objects to which it relates, must have been formed from eternity. Nothing can exist under his sovereign dominion which is new to him, or which he might not hinder had he chosen it, or for which his eternal purpose did not make provision. If we admit the supreme and uncontrollable dominion of God, and that he has a right to do with his creatures what seemeth good in his sight, we must then believe that it is not derogatory to any perfection of his nature, to order all things to take place according to his own previous purpose.

That this is actually the case, the prophecies and the promises recorded in Scripture furnish us with additional evidence. Whatever he foretells as what shall hereafter take place, shall certainly be, whether it depend on the voluntary actions of free agents or not. Now, he has foretold the moral conduct and qualities of men, their virtues and vices, their wickedness and