QUESTION XIV. 365 to awicked world, for one hundred and twenty sears, thoùglrhe foreknew that very few would be reformed by Noah's pr .:tootling ; and he toldNoah, that at the end of those years he would bring a flood over the world to destroy the wicked inhabitants of it, who would not be reformed. Again, when he put Main and Eve intoparadise under the law of innocency, and forbid them to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge, we also believe he foreknew that Adam andEve would eat, this fruit, and disobey their Creator; and yet he wisely forbid them to eat it. Now since we know that a just God hath in fact done these things, we must confess there cannot be the least injustice in them. Nay, we may go a step farther in these matters of fact. God has actually sent his Son and his gospel with miracles and, divine evi, deuce, where he knew they would not be received, or at most by a very few, that is, to Chorazin, Capernaum, and Bethsaida in Galilee; and yet he never sentthis gospel, with such evidence, to Tyre and Sidon, to Sodom and Gomorrah, where Christ,tells us, it would have been received, and the inhabitants would have repented in sackcloth and ashes; Mat. xi. 21. we are sure there is nothing unjust in all this transaction, because we know God has done it, who is righteous in all his ways, and holy inall his works; l'sal. exly. 17. Let us then content ourselves With knowing the things that make for our own peace, and humbly submit to the wise and gracious government of God, for our own eternal happiness, though we cannot enter into the impenetrable secrets of his counsel, nor solve all difficulties therein, because our short and narrow view of things cannot comprehend them : And yet, at thesame time, if we can, by our reasonings accord- ing to scripture, cast any happy gleam of light into these dark- nesses of providence, whereby any honour may be done to God, any imputation of injustice taken off from his conduct, any scru- ples of mankind satisfied, and any angry contentions removed ; it is neither unlawful nor improper to attempt andseek after such advantages: And with this view and hope I would propose the threefollowing questions : QUEST. XIV.Can the different Opinions of Christians, con- cerning the Operations of divineGrace on the Souls of Men, be reconciled ? The corruption and degeneracy of mankind, by the, fall of Adam, is generally and truly supposed by our protestant divines, to be so great and universal, and their weakness or im:,otenoe to change their own sinful natures into holiness, is so evident, both in the discourses.of the sacred writers, and in the experience Of men, that it is agreed among most or all of them, there isa uer
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