268 RUIN AND RECOVERY, &e. And if God has appointed such a constitution as is best in the whole view of things, and is favourable to the majority of the human race, or the bulk of the world ; this is sufficient to vindi- cate the justice of God ; and then the few sufferers have no rea- son to complain. Do we not find it thus under the best ofhuman laws and constitutions, that some persons who were once inno- cent will grow wicked ? And that even some innocent persons may be laid under unavoidable hardships or sufferings ? Yet all law-givers account those to be just constitutions, which provide for the welfare of the bulk of the subjects, though here and there will be an unhappy instance of guilt and misery. To this objection I would offer these three answers : 1. In order to pronounce a man miserable, it is granted he must have more pain than pleasure ; but in order to pronounce a man a sinner, there is no necessity that his moral evil shoúld ex- ceed his good, or his vices transcend his virtues. If a man had a hundred virtues, one vice in the sight of God would pronounce him a criminal ; one evil action would break the law of his Maker, and lay him under his Maker's just displeasure. He that keeps almost all the law of God, and offends in one point, affronts that authority which requires all obedience : So that all the race of man are certainly under this condemnation, that they are sinners every oneof them : and, consequently, exposed to the anger of him that made them. And thus with regard to their sinfulness my argument stands in full force. As for misery, let it be allowed for the present, though it is by no means granted, that there are many persons whose plea- sures exceed their uneasinesses ; yet it is certain that there are great numbers also of mankind, whose pains or uneasinesses, wisely and justly compared with their pleasures, will appear far to êxceed them ; and it is hard to say, how this should come to pass, if mankind were all innocent and happyby nature; as they are now born into the world. Their universal sinfulnesstherefore, and the misery of multitudes, must conclude them all under some spreading degeneracy. 2. What though the makers of human laws are not able to flame such constitutions in every case, which shall certainly se- cure happiness to all the innocent ? This is because their nar- row views of things, and their short foresight of future events, will not enable them in making laws to provide against all future inconveniences, nor to secure the innocent always from injury; But we must not think nor speak thus of the divine Law-giver, the Creator and the Governor of all things : He grasps at once all possibles, as well as all futures, id his present view, and and therefore he can guard against any injury that might befall innocent beings ; nor will divine justice, in my opinion, suffer any mischief to light upon any individual innocent'wïthout' equal
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