Creatures. We are abfolutely at the Will and Difpofal of God, as Slaves and Vaffals are at the Will of their Lord; but our Security is, That God can Will nothing, but what is Wife, and Juft, and Good.

3dly, From hence it evidently follows, That in our Difputes about the Juftice of Providence, we must confine our Enquiries to Diftributive Juftice; that is, we must not barely confider what Men have, or what they lofe, or what they fuffer, nor what the immediate and vifible Causes of all this are, whether juft or unjuft; but we muft confider what Proportion there is between their Condition and their Moral Deferts, or whether they enjoy or fuffer any thing, which will not ferve the wife and juft Ends of God's Government. If Men are put into fuch a Condition, as they have neither deserved, nor can make any good Ufe of, or which does not make them Inftruments of the Divine Providence to ferve fome wife and good Ends; by what Means foever they come into fuch a Condition, it reflects upon the Wifdom and Juftice of God, who has the Supreme. Difpofal of all Events, and by a Sovereign Authority, allots all Men their feveral Portions and Stations in the World: But let Mens Cóndition be what it will, whether they be Rich or Poor, Happy or Miferable, advanced or ruin'd by Injustice, Oppreffion, and Violence; if this be what they deferved, what they are fit for, what the Wife Government of the World requires, it can be no Blemish to Providence, which directs and governs all Things with Wildom and Justice.

So that it is no Objection against the Justice of Providence, to fay, That there are a great M

many

many Miferable People in the World, and a great deal of Injuftice daily committed in it; unless you can prove, That any of thefe miferable People ought not, for wife and juft Reafons, to fuffer fuch Miferies; or that any fuffer by Injustice, what they ought not to fuffer: For if notwithstanding all the Miferies that are in the World, and all the Wickedness that is committed in it, no Man fuffers any thing but what he deferves, or what God may wifely and juftly inflict on him, this abundantly vindicates the Wifdom and Juftice of Providence.

4thly, But for the better Understanding of this, we must confider more particularly the Nature of God's Juftice, and what Acts of Juftice the Government of this World requires ; and how it differs from the Juftice of Human Governments; the confounding of which, has occafioned most of the Objections against the Juftice of Providence.

1. To confider the Nature and Exercise of God's Juftice: For tho' the General Notion of Juftice be the fame, whether we speak of the Juftice of God or Men; yet the particular Acts of Juftice vary, as they do even among Men, according as their Rights and Authority differ. Juftice fignifies to give to every Man what is his own, and to take nothing from any Man, but what is our own; to ferve our felves of other Men, and to reward or punish them, as their Actions deferve, and as our Authority will juftify. So that the particular Expreffions of Juftice and Righteoufnefs, as exercised by different Perfons, differ as much as the Circumftances of Mens Fortune and Conditions, Relations, Authority and Power differ. For when Two Men do the fame Thing, it may be done

very justly by one, and very unjustly by the other; because one may have a Right and Authority to do it, and the other have none: As a Prince, or Judge, may very juftly execute a Criminal, and confifcate his Eftate, which a privare Man cannot justly do.

Now if the Difference between a private Man and a Magiftrate, between a Prince and a Subject, makes fuch a vaft Difference in the particular Acts and Exercise of Juftice and Righteoufnefs, as they respect fuch different States; that vaft Disproportion which is between God and Creatures, muft make a much greater Difference; that tho' the General Notion of Juftice and Righteousness is the fame both with refpect to God and Men, yet God may do that very juftly, which Men cannot justly do; as a Prince may exercise fome Acts of Justice, which a private Man must not do.

I fhall at prefent only inftance in God's Abfolute Dominion and Sovereignty, and fhew you in fome plain Cafes, what a vaft Difference this makes between the Juftice of God, and the Justice of Men. Now God's Abfolute Dominion, gives him Right and Authority to do whatever is confiftent with Wisdom and Goodness: For Abfolute Dominion is Abfolute Authority; and Abfolute Authority makes every Thing juft, which is wife and good. A Limited Authority has a Rule, and must not do what is wife and good, against its Rule of Right. No Man muft take away that which is another's, and which he has no Authority to take away, whatever wife and good Ends he can ferve by it. Tho' it were never fo apparent, that it would be a great Kindness to the Man himself, to take away great Part of his EM 2 ftare,

ftate, which he ufes ill to oppress his Neighbours, and to make himself a Beaft; tho' he does not deferve the Eftate he has, nay, deferves to lofe it; tho' we could beftow it upon Men who deferve, and would use it better, or could employ it to Excellent Ufes, for the Service of God, and of his Church, or for the Relief of the Poor: All these wife and good Purpofes, would juftify no Man who invades another's Right without a juft Authority. But had any Prince fuch an Abfolute Authority over the Eftates of all his Subjects, that he could give or take them away as he pleafed, then fuch Reasons as thefe, would juftify the Exercise of fuch a Sovereign Will and Power, in transferring Eftates and Properties, and all Men would allow it to be very Juft and Righteous. Now this is the Cafe with respect to God, as I obferved before; for he is the fole Lord and Proprietor of the World; and therefore no other Bounds can be fet to the juft Exercife of his Authority, but to do what is wife and good: He may give, or take away any Man's Eftate, or Honour, or Power, whenever he can serve any wife, or juft, or good Ends by it; for they are all but feveral Trufts: We are but God's Stewards, and must give an Account of our Stewardship; and if we do not ufe our Riches and Honours well, or when he has no longer any Use of us, he has as Abfolute Authority to lay us afide, as a Lord has to change his Steward when he pleases.

Thus God is the Abfolute Lord of all Men : We are all his Creatures, and are in his Hands, as Clay in the Hands of a Potter; and therefore he may deal with us as he pleases, and may ferve the Ends of his own Glory and Provi

dence

dence of us, as far as his own Wifdom and Goodness will direct. Thus for inftance: We think it very unjuft in Human Governments to punifh a vertuous and innocent Man, to ftrip him of his Eftate or Honours, to afflict his Body, to expose him to publick Scorn, and confine him to a noifome Prison, and at laft to take away his Life with exquifite Pains and Torments: But the Sovereign Authority of God extends to all this, when he can ferve his own Glory, and the wife Ends of his Grace and Providence by it, without doing any real Injury to his Creatures. The Wisdom of God requires, that there fhould be very great and excellent Reasons for doing this; and the Goodness of God requires, that fuch good Men fhould be greatly fupported under their Sufferings, and greatly rewarded for them; but then the Sovereignty of God gives him Authority to use the Services of his Creatures, in doing or fuffering

his Will.

This was the Cafe of Job whom God exercifed with great Sufferings, to make him an eminent Example of Faith and Patience; but we know what was the End of Job, and how greatly God rewarded his Sufferings; tho' Job himfelf, while he was under his Sufferings, knew not what other account to give of them, but to refolve all into the Sovereign Will and Pleasure of God. The Lord gave, and the Lord bath taken away, and bleed be the name of the Lord. And, Shall we receive good at the bands of God, and shall we not receive evil? Which indeed is Anfwer enough to all fuch Cafes, while we have an implicit Faith in the Wisdom and Goodness of Providence.

Thus God dealt with Jofeph, made him the Inftrument of transplanting his Father and all M 3

his