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newed to him. There is no mention of SER M. any particular promise with respect to the V. present exigency in answer to his prayers, that is, that he should escape from Efau ; and there was no need of any, for the favour of God is in all events fufficient for his fervants, their rock and refuge in every article of danger; when that foundation is once laid, and an intereft in the loving-kindness of their God afcertained to them, they are fully fatisfied, and reason with themselves in this manner; let the appearances be ever so dismal and shocking, our God is able to deliver us; but if he has thought fit to appoint otherwise, and that the prefent danger must put an end to life, ftill we are fafe, his favour reacheth beyond the line of life, and maketh death itself our gain. Such hope had thofe glorious confeffors for the true religion, Shadrach, Mefkach, and Abednego, when doomed to a fiery furnace by Nebuchadnezzar, and their hope infpired them with heroic refolution, Dan. iii. 16. They anfwered, and faid, Q Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be fo, our God, whom we ferve, is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and be will deliver us out of thy hand, O

king,

SERM. king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O V. king, we will not ferve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou haft fet up. I come, in the

Second Place, To confider the title which wisdom or religious virtue giveth to the fa vour of God, or upon what grounds we may expect, according to the declaration in the text, that if we find wisdom, we shall ob→ tain favour of the Lord. As I fhewed before, that the perfection of felicity, and the great. nefs of the reward, imported in the favour of God, is justly inferred from his glorious natural excellencies, his abfolute dominion and power over all things; fo that the wife, that is, the virtuous and the good, are intitled to his favour, may be juftly argued from his moral attributes. We must neceffarily fuppofe that the Supreme Being is infinitely good, righteous, and true, and that he exercifeth these perfections in the government of his reasonable creatures. This is proved in the fame manner as the existence of God, and his other attributes, that is, by arguing from effects to their caufes, from the exercife of powers and principles to their being; and from this moft certain truth, that all real

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real and abfolute excellencies must belong to SER M. the infinite, unoriginated, and independent V. cause of all things. Every confiderate per+ son will find himself obliged to acknowledge that the moral attributes are real and absolute excellencies, moft juftly and worthily therefore afcribed to the infinitely perfect Being. Befides, this must be allowed to be the foundation of true religion, and, therefore, hath been univerfally acknowledged wherever it was profeffed or practised; for how can men do any thing that is good out of a regard to the Deity, which is the very meaning of religion, unless they first believe him to be good, and a lover of virtue ?

And, indeed, the greateft corruptions of religion and morality have taken their rise from wrong notions of God. What wonder is it, if the worshippers are misled to cruelty, lafciviousness, and ambition, if it be once believed that the objects of worship themselves are of the fame difpofitions, and that wicked practices are agreeable to them? But if, on the contrary, we are fully convinced that God is perfectly holy, juft, benevolent, and faithful, then we are furnished with the ftrongeft motives to practice, and to think on the things which are

pure,

SERM. pure, and true, and honeft, and virtuous, V. because we are fure these things are approved

by him. What the fcriptute declareth on this fubject is perfectly agreeable to reason, for it celebrateth the holiness and the justice of God, especially as manifefted in the distinction he maketh between good and bad men, Pfal. xi. 5, 6, 7. The Lord trieth the righteous, but the wicked and him that loveth violence his foul bateth. Upon the wicked he fhall rain fnares, fire, and brimstone, and an horrible tempeft; this fhall be the portion of their cup. For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness, his countenance doth behold the upright. And elsewhere we are taught, that because he is holy therefore he delighteth in holiness, he hateth fin, and the evil and the vicious are an abomination to him.

But this is fo evident, I need not spend time in endeavouring to illuftrate it. I fhall, therefore, apply myfelf to the confideration of an obvious obbjection taken from the promifcuous adminiftration of things in this world. How doth it appear that the wife and virtuous obtain favour of the Lord, fince his providence doth not distinguish them by marks of favour; but, by the confeffion of the facred writers themselves, they are in as

bad

bad a condition with respect to the affairs of SER M. this life as the wicked? Ecclef. ix. 1, 2. The V. righteous, and the wife, and their works, are in the hand of God; no man knoweth love or hatred by all that is before him. All things come alike to all; there is one event to the righteous and to the wicked, to the good, and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that facrificeth, and to him that facrificeth not; asis the good, fo is the finner, and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath. Nay, it is often found in experience, that when wickedness is triumphant, and the proud are counted happy, the most eminently religious fuffer cruel perfecution; the apoftles were fet forth as examples fuffering all manner of adversity and tribulations, counted the off-fcourings of all things, and the filth of the world. This objection hath been often advanced against the equity and wisdom of providence, and as seeming to prove that the affairs of this world are under no intelligent direction, but left to blind chance or neceffity; and taking it in its whole compass, it would require a large confideration; but I fhall at prefent only examine it with a view to the point before us, that is, I will shew that it is not conclufive against

the

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