272 RUIN AND RECOVERY, &C. Now is it possible, if we were a race of pure and innocent beings made for immortality, in some other world, that God should suffer the bulk of mankind to remain so ignorant and thoughtless of that future state into which we are all hastening? Would a good and gracious God leave a race of such creatures as he made them, in such a stupid insensibility of their eternal interests, so unsuited to the felicities of an immortal spirit, and so negligent of all preparations for them ? Should someblessed angel of heaven, who had never known any thing of ourearth, come down amongst us, or sonic inhabitant of an innocent globe, some stranger to our world, descend from one of God's holy-dominions on high, and spend a month or two in a sur vey of all the iniquities and miseries of the tribes of mankind, can we imagine he would pronounce us holy or happy ? Could he ever believe the holy and wise, the righteous and the gracious God ever put such workmanship as we are out of his hands for new-made creatures ? Would he not immedi- ately conclude, there are so many signs of guilt and wretch- edness among us, as constrain him to confess some universal degeneracy and desolation fallen upon us, which is utterly un- known to the holy and happy provinces of the empire of the blessedGod ? Upon this whole survey, I think our own reason must needs join in the same mournful confession, that some universal apos- tacy from the laws of our creation, somecriminal disorder and wretchedness has some way or other come upon the whole race of mankind, since they first came out of the hands of their Maker There must be some spreading poison which has tainted our na- ture; which renders us so prone to sin, and so lamentably guilty, so miserable in the present state, so thoughtless of the future, and so unprepared for it. 'There must be some general revolt of the race of man from their Creator, whereby they have disturbed, disordered, and broken their original natures and powers, where- by they have ruined their innocence and their peace, and raised, a most unhappy empire of tyrannical and vexing passions upon the ruin of them ; whereby they have provoked the anger of their kind, wise and holy Maker, and their righteous Gover- ner, and whereby they become exposed to such wretched cir cumstances even in their infancy and childhood, as well as when they grow to years of greater understanding : I think it is evident that a righteous and wise Governor, even though we should not consider his infinite goodness, would not suffer crea- tures to come into such deplorable circumstances, if they were not regarded by him hi some sort as criminals : He would not inflict so much natural evil, that is, pain andmisery, and spread it through such a vast'province of his dominion, so universally without exception, nor suffer it to be inflicted in the course of his
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