be a vindication of the divine conduct, with regard to the permiffion and continuation of evil in this life. When the householder's fervants defired that they might be employed in taking up the tares, he would not confent unto it, but faid, Nay, left whilft ye gather the tares, root up the wheat alfo.

ye root

In this world, fo interwoven are the inte refts, fo connected is the happiness, fo dependent are the miseries of one man upon another, that it may be deemed impracticable even for Almighty power to difcriminate and difunite them; or in other words, to chaftife the vices. of the bad, without involving the good alfo; the punishment of a guilty parent may heap undeferved forrows on the head of an innocent child; a worthy and faithful fervant may be ruined by the fall of a wicked mafter; if the licentious and abandoned profligate is vifited by fickness and forrow, he may bring poverty and diftrefs on a whole fober and virtu ous family. God therefore may, and frequently doth, withhold the vial of his wrath, and defer the execution of his righteous judgment, that may not punish the innocent with the guilty, and whilft he gathereth the tares, root up the

he

wheat alfo.

But that the gracious difpofer of all things may be clear when he is judged, by the permiffion of evil, God hath moreover moft wife ly and benevolently produced good. How many are there amongst the diftinguifhing perfections of human nature, which owe if not their birth and exiftence, at least their growth, ftrength,

M

ftrength, and power, to those misfortunes and afflictions which alone caufed the exertion of them. How would the patience and piety of the perfecuted martyr ever have fhone forth, but through the pride and cruelty of his oppreffors! What opportunity could afflicted virtue find to fhew her fortitude and perfeverance, without the infults and inhumanity of fuccefsful vice! The frequent and impious violation of our holy religion, from the malicious attacks of infidels and free-thinkers, have opened a glorious field to the pious defenders of it, given them occafion to difplay their talents and abilities in the faireft light; talents which might for ever have lain hid, and abilities that never had become confpicuous, but from the iniquity and perverfenefs of their adverfaries. Thus doth the deformity of the tares reflect an additional beauty on the wheat, which appears more full and fair by being placed in the fame field with them; and thus hath evil itfelf, by the providence of God, been productive of the greatest benefit and advantage to us.

But the wisdom and goodness of the Almighty, in this particular, will appear ftill more evident to us, when we come to confider, that in the general characters of men, good and evil are fo blended together, that it is fometimes impoffible to eradicate the one without defroying the other. Virtues and vices, follies and perfections, are often fo united in one perfon, that we cannot without difficulty determine him as the proper object of our love

and

and esteem, or of our hatred and averfion. It is highly incumbent on us, therefore, to be extremely cautious, left whilft we punish the faults of our fellow-creatures, we do an injury to their merit and virtue alfo. In the field of human nature, the tares are fo intermingled with the wheat, that it requires the kecneft and moft judging eye to diftinguifh the niceft hand to separate and difunite them. How careful, for inftance, fhould the parent be in the education of his children, left with the tares he root up the wheat alfo! Who fhall fay whether, in ftopping the growth of apparent prodigality, he may not eradicate the noble feeds of charity and benevolence, and fill the garden with the pernicious weeds of avarice and felf-love? whether by curbing with feverity, the freedom and openness of youth, we may not deftroy all its courage and fpirit, and ftain the ingenuous mind with cowardice and diffimulation? The fuppreffion of anger and refentment hath not unfrequently been obferved to introduce meannefs and pufillanimity: thus may the mistaken husbandman impoverish that estate which he endeavoured by wrong means to improve, and with the tares root up the wheat alfo.

God, we may obferve, my brethren, hath in this particular fet an example unto men, and most indifputable it is, that he would not delegate or affign over a power unto them, which he feems himself unwilling to exercife; it would ill become us therefore to attempt it.. When weak and finful men take upon them the office of extirpating evil, what additional evils

up

do they always produce! How unable are they to diftinguish the good wheat from the tares and weeds of the field! Can they know the fecrets of the heart, or enter into the real defigns and intentions of their fellow-creatures? Whenever men have thus impiously affumed the authority, and invaded the prerogative of their Creator, how dreadful have been the confequences of it! Who can reflect without horror on the fad effects of bigotry and perfecution? Or what fhall we fay to that church, which, in direct oppofition to the great hufbandman, under a pretence of gathering up the weeds of herefy and fchifm, hath rooted the fairest fheaves of innocence and virtue! But the last and most powerful vindication of God's knowledge and juftice is ftill behind, fufficient of itself to ftop the clamours, and put to filence the ignorance of foolish men. Omnifcience alone is able to diftinguifh, to Teparate, and to reward: the divine husbandman knows precifely at what time the divifion is to be made, when both the wheat and the tares are grown to maturity, when they cannot poffibly be mistaken for, or confounded with each other. Let both, fays he, grow together until the harveft: and in the time of harveft I will fay to the reapers, Gather up together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn: or, as our Saviour interprets it, The fon of man fhall fend forth his angels, and they fhall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and fhall caft them into a furnace of fire.--Then fhall the righteous

fhine forth as the fun in the kingdom of their

Father.

This gracious declaratiou, from the mouth of infinite wifdom, at once removes the veil which ignorance had caft over the determinations of Providence, and opens to us a full and fair profpect of the divine juftice. Thus every doubt is cleared, and every fufpicion banifhed; all the miferies and misfortunes which the introduction and permiffion of evil brought on the good and virtuous in this world, are amply recompenfed by his fuperior fhare of happiness in another. He is moreover indebted to thofe very forrows, which he complained of, for that bleffing which he is to enjoy, as they gave him opportunities of exerting those virtues which increafed his reward. Whilft, on the other hand, the workers of iniquity, in proportion to their fuccefs in one ftate, are punished with more severity in the other: the longer the tares grow and flourish in the field, the eafier are they rooted up, and with the fiercer flames will they burn.

To conclude, therefore: If we have any doubts or fcruples concerning the ways of Providence, and the diftribution of good and evil in this world, to the laft and great day let us with all humility refer them, where every fcruple will be fatisfied, and every doubt removed. In the mean time let us patiently and pioufly fubmit to the divine difpenfation: let us reft affured that the great Hufbandman beft knoweth how to cultivate and improve his own field, and doth not ftand in need of our