event, then, in this wide universe, takes place without his notice and his permission, for he has not only made the laws which govern both matter and mind, but is present in those laws, developing their results. Chance is a thing unknown; all is God directing, or God permitting. No free agent acts independently of him, for from him he derives, through the medium of second causes, his intellectual and physical strength. True, he permits us to go on in the exercise of our free agency, either in the path of virtue or of vice, reserving to himself the power to overrule our actions, and to mark out the limits over which we cannot pass. All things, all creatures, all men, are then at his disposal, and he is sovereign over them all. The world is still his kingdom, though it has revolted from him; men are still his subjects, though they are in arms against him; but they could have no power to rebel without his permission, for he alone preserves them in existence. You `may render a monarch powerless by depriving him of his resources, since these are derived either from his own

subjects, or from foreign powers. But the resources of the King of kings are both underived and infinite; how then can you diminish or exhaust them? How can the sins of empires or of worlds subtract any thing from his omnipotence? We may by sin impair our own powers, physical, intellectual, and moral; we may even render society powerless for all the purposes of its institution. Thus the drunkard may spread over his countenance the hue of sallow paleness; he may manifest the prostration of all physical energy by the trembling hand, the faltering step, and the fluttering pulse, till exhausted nature sinks into the grave; but God is still almighty! The debauchee may walk in the paths of licentiousness, turning his body, once beautiful and noble, into a sink of pollution, till the earth hides him from our view; but Jehovah is still omnipotent! The skeptic may hug infidelity to his bosom till

its fangs shall have paralyzed his conscience, maddened his will, and destroyed his affections; but God still exists infinite in resources to reward the virtuous, and to punish the vicious. So the whole community may indulge in wickedness till its pillars are all destroyed, and the social fabric falls, to crush beneath its cumbrous weight those whom it was designed to protect; but God still sits upon a throne, the permanency and resources of which are alike unaffected by the convulsions of the material, and the commotions of the moral world. The consequences fall on creatures, but reach not the Creator; his position places him for ever above them all.

II. Sin cannot disturb the happiness of God. Jehovah is perfectly happy in his own perfections; he was so before the creation of a single being or a single world; he will be so for ever. The happiness of all other beings is derived from him, its exhaustless source. True, he has been pleased, in the fulness of his love, to manifest a peculiar affection for man, and a strong desire for his felicity. Hence we see him at one time leaning over Israel, and, in view of their apostacy, crying out, "O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!" At another, bending over Jerusalem, and giving vent to the compassionate feelings of his soul in language of moving, melting tenderness, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!" Hence his word, in which he assures us that he loves holiness and hates sin; that he has no pleasure in the death of the wicked; that he is unwilling that any should perish, but that all should come to the knowledge of the truth. Why, but for our sakes, does the sacred volume abound in awful threatenings and tender promises, in moving ex

hortations and affectionate entreaties? Read on its every page the regard which Jehovah has for your welfare. See it in his works! He gives his only-begotten, wellbeloved Son to die in your stead. The Father bestows his best gift upon rebels that they may be reconciled to him; the Son endures the greatest sufferings that we may be freed from sin and hell; the Holy Ghost incessantly labours to bring us back to God; the institutions and influences of the gospel are all employed to raise us to heaven. Can we doubt the ardency or sincerity of God's desires for our salvation? Hath he not done quite as much to secure it, as if it were actually necessary to his felicity? But do not hence infer that such is the fact. O no; he can do without us!

The sins of a world cannot disturb his happiness, since it is derived from himself alone; he is perfectly independent. Can the sins of man mar any of his attributes, or tarnish any of his perfections? Can they thwart any of his plans, defeat any of his purposes, annul any of his laws? These he has placed for ever beyond the power of all created beings. Between us and these he has fixed the limits of human agency: "thus far shalt thou go, but no farther." How then, I ask, can the sinner impair the bliss of God, since its source is infinitely beyond his reach? Sin affects creatures alone, and makes them miserable. I do not limit its effects to man, for the irrational creation suffers from his cruelty; nor do we know what effects the example of man's apostacy has had and may still have upon other worlds. But they are not felt

in heaven.

Does the objector ask whether a benevolent God does not suffer in beholding the miseries of his creatures? Why should he, since man brings them upon himself by his own wilful disobedience? But follow out your inquiry, and you will be forced to say that the Creator is

more wretched than any of his creatures. And must not reason deny your words? The heavenly host, however, bring in their testimony, and declare that God created all things, and sustains all things in existence for his pleasure. "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honour, and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created." The inquiry shows us clearly how limited are the objector's views of the character of God. It is necessary that we should take a more comprehensive view of his nature, and consider him in the capacity of a holy Lawgiver. Infinite wisdom, justice, and love, were all employed in making the laws by which the universe is governed; in these laws even mortals may behold these attributes of the Deity. By consequence, infinite wisdom must have foreseen distinctly all the bearings and effects of these laws upon the different orders of beings, and infinite love must have rejoiced in them; almighty power is fully sufficient to secure the existence of legitimate effects, and in these there can be nothing prejudicial or unjust. As a lawgiver, then, of unerring wisdom and boundless love, Jehovah must supremely delight in the results of law, whether they are chanted in the chiming notes of angels, or shrieked forth in the helpless moans of damned spirits! Zaleucus, the Locrian prince, delighted in the supremacy of law, though it involved the suffering of his son. The son had been condemned to lose both eyes, as the penalty for his crime. Pity prompted the father to deprive him of but one; he feelings of the lawgiver, to pluck out one of his own. And shall an earthly prince take greater delight in the results of law than the Governor of the universe? The pity of the Father prompted him to give to us his Son, that through his death we might enjoy eternal life. "To testify his affection for us, he sent down his own bowels."

But he needs not our company in heaven, nor will he suffer on account of our pains in hell!

III. Sin cannot impair the glory of God. God's glory is said to be promoted by the conversion of sinners, the obedience of the faithful, and the prosperity of Zion. By this, however, we mean that his glory appears greater in the sight of men. Such we believe to be the fact, and believing we rejoice. But God's glory, in itself, is neither diminished nor increased by any of the actions of men or angels. For no created beings can add to the nature of the Creator-the source of his glory. "God is the fountain of his own blessedness, the theatre of his own glory, the glass of his own beauty. One drop increases the ocean, but to God a million of worlds can add nothing." How can you impair his glory but by impairing his nature? And that, we have shown you, you cannot touch! It is above the reach of sin! On the contrary, sin, the transgression of his law, gives new occasion for the display of his perfections; and hence, counter to the wishes of the sinner, promotes that glory which he designed to impair. This principle is beautifully developed in the inspired words of the psalmist: "The wrath of man shall praise thee the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain."

Do we wish for illustrations in proof of this position? Go back to ancient days, when Egypt's proud king hardened his heart, and refused to let Jehovah's captive tribes go free. See the plagues which were sent upon the Egyptians, till their wisest magicians were overpowered and confounded before the presence of the servant of the Lord. See Jehovah multiplying his wonders in the land, till the voice of mourning over Egypt's first-born melted her monarch's heart. Behold the Israelites taking their departure; they reach the shores of the sea, when lo! the waves, dividing, form themselves in walls on either side to open a way for the hosts of God. Pharaoh, frantic