ance of his people; and concludes with one of the greateft, Thou leddeft thy people like a flock by the hand of Mofes and Aaron. His feeking comfort, from a remembrance of God's great kindneffes to Ifrael, intimates, that his forrow was on account of their fufferings.

But however the Pfalmift might be affected by the calamities of the people, to whom he was fo nearly related; yet whoever reads the hiftory of this people in their own books, will hardly think their fufferings, as a nation, stand as an objection to Providence they were under the highest obligations to obedience, and the most forward to disobey of any other and it appears, that as often as they repented of their iniquity, they were faved from fuch deftructions as feemed to leave no hope for their restoration. But the cafe of suffering nations in general, without confidering the merit of any particular nation, is fo intricated by a great variety of circumstances, that it is hard to form a diftinct judgment. The iniquity of a nation is made up of the iniquities of many; and, it may be prefumed, no nation was ever so bad, but that there were fome good people in it: these, be they many or few, are involved in the general ruin, and their cafe makes a diftinct difficulty. Now, though it be scarce poffible for us, who can with no certainty judge of each other, to estimate the virtue and vice of nations, fo as to fay when they are ripe for deftruction, yet there are fome general obfervations, which lie within our reach, that will help to justify the providence of God in this part of divine government, and filence complaints on this head.

First, There is a natural tendency in vice and im morality to weaken and deftroy nations and governments; and, that it should be fo, is agreeable, in general, to the notion we have of God's justice and goodness.

Secondly, It is also agreeable to our sense of juftice and goodness, that nations, quite degenerate and corrupted, fhould not be fuffered to continue and profper, and to spread their vice and iniquity by means of their power and authority.

Thirdly, These principles allowed, the whole difficulty lies in the application of them to particular cafes; which application to particular cases depending upon circumftances which we cannot poffibly know, the objection arifes, not from the reason of the cafe, but merely from our ignorance of it: and where is the wonder, that there should be many things in the administration of divine government, the reasons of which we cannot comprehend? The general method of Providence, in exalting virtuous and fober nations, in humbling the proud and profligate, is confeffedly agreeable to juftice; and no man can complain of it. There is no room therefore for any complaint at all, but when these rules of justice are misapplied; and it is not only weakness, but great prefumption, to say these rules are in any cafe tranfgreffed, because it is a point in which human reafon cannot judge. Whoever therefore enters into this complaint, may certainly say with the Pfalmift, It is my infirmity.

The miseries of which good men have a fhare in all public calamities will fall under the next

head, which relates to the private and particular fufferings of good men.

These complaints must be confidered as made by others, in behalf of those who fuffer; or, as made by the sufferers themselves. When others make this complaint in behalf of the fufferers, they evidently affume a fact for which they can have no proof, that the fufferers are innocent righteous perfons: and, therefore, it is great weakness and infirmity in them to complain against Providence, upon fuppofition of a fact, of which they cannot poffibly judge.

The characters of men, in the eye of the world, depend upon their outward behaviour; and when men behave fo as to deserve a good character, it is great want of candour and charity to fufpect them of evil to treat them as deferving ill, would be a direct violation of common juftice: for fince we have no way of judging men but by their outward conduct, to treat thofe ill who appear to us to deferve well, is acting against the only rule we have to direct us in the administration of justice. But when we judge of God's dealing with men, and call him to account for his juftice, this rule, by which we are bound to judge and direct ourfelves, is a very unfafe one to follow, and may easily misguide us the reafon is, because, though we must take men's characters from the only rule we have to go by, their external behaviour, yet their true and real character, as to virtue and vice, is determinable only by their inward principles and fentiments, which are known to God alone, who fearcheth the heart and reins. To judge men to be wicked, be

caufe we fee they are miferable, would be acting without charity towards men: to judge them to be innocent, and therefore unjustly treated when they suffer, would be acting with great prefumption towards God. From which two confiderations, the rule of our duty in thefe cafes must appear to be this, to treat men as they appear to us to deserve, whether they are fortunate or unfortunate in the world; and forbear all cenfures upon divine Providence, which acts by rules of the highest juftice, though undiscoverable by us in particular cases.

But farther, the man who fuffers may be what you take him to be, a very good man; and yet his fufferings no juft occafion for any complaint on his behalf. One good man faw this, and confessed it in his own cafe, It is good for me that I was afflicted: before I was in trouble I went aftray. Even good men in this life want fometimes admonitions to awaken their care, fometimes trials to perfect their faith. And unless you can judge certainly (which moft certainly you cannot do) of the end and purpofes of Providence in permitting a good man to suffer, you can never, with any pretence of reason, pafs judgment upon the ways of God.

As this is true with refpect to the temporary fufferings of the righteous; fo is it likewise true, even when the righteous are given up to deftruction in this world, and perish, in the eyes of the world, miferably. Confider the cafe of all the martyrs who have died for the teftimony of God's truth: do you efteem them as good men given up by God, without mercy, to fundry kinds of cruel death? If you do not, it is evident, that good men

may fuffer, even to death, without any juft reflection upon the goodness of God.

The truth of the cafe is this; fince all men must die, in the time and manner of death the difference cannot be great: and how hard foever it may be to reconcile ourselves to death, to unnatural and violent death especially; yet, upon the ftricteft fcrutiny of reafon, it can be no lofs to a good man, if there be any truth in religion, to be removed at any time out of this world into a better. And this will account for the cafe of the righteous, supposed to fuffer in the deftruction of a wicked nation: they fall indeed like other men; but they fall into the hands of God, who knows how to distinguish their cafe, and to compenfate all their miferies. I am not recommending these kind of fufferings to your liking, or trying to reconcile your natural fentiments to them: this only I contend for, that, upon principles of reason and religion, no objection can lie against divine Providence on their account. But to proceed :

When the fufferer complains in his own behalf, where is the man who will venture to put his complaint into this form, that a righteous man is fuffering unjustly? We pray daily to God not to enter into judgment with us; and, I think, no man will care to begin, and enter into judgment with God: before he does, he muft fatisfy himself in these particulars; that he has been guilty of no offence to deserve the punishment of fufferings; that he is fo perfect, as not to want the admonition of them; that he is fo approved, as to want no trial.

Whoever can come to think of himself in this