ESSAY L 417 taia, the bulk of mankindwalk in the broad way to destruction, and but few find the gate of life ; Mat. vii. 13, 14. This alone is sufficient ground to maintain a probability of persons in gene- ral, who come into this world, being miserable rather than happy : And in thisview how can mankind with reason give thanks to their Maker for mere 'existence, which in the present fallen state, exposes us ratherto misery than happiness ? And the arguments whichare used to oppose this opinion are so weak and ill-ground- ed, that I chearfully leave them to the sense reason and conscience of every sincere reader to answer and refute them, though they are made a foundation for several unjust triumphs. But if the case be so, whence comes this dreadful scene, this dismal situa- tion of things, that an intelligent creature cannot thank God for creating him ? Not from God the Creator, whos'e justice and goodness would never have suffered him to have created original beings as they came from his hands,in such a situation as this : There must have been some dreadful ancient apostacy fromGod their Creator, some general degeneracy and curse of a broken law or covenant, under the spreading desolationwhereof mankind come into this world nor is there any other way that Ican imagine or guess at, whereby the justice and goodnessof God the Creator can be secured and vindicated from such hard imputations: And though it is the blessed God that creates or forms fallen mankind from inlay to day, who come into such a situation and such wretched circumstances, yet it is all according.to such an original law of nature or divine constitution made for innocent man, which was holy, just and good in itself. It is true the great, God foreseesthat millions will no* bemiserable ; and not- withstanding all this, his wisdom does not see fit to alter this con- stitution of things, for reasons which are unknown and unsearch- able to us, and which will perhaps continue to bea secret until the great clay of judgment. Till that time comes we canbut form probable conjectures*. But that great day shall reveal all, * Suppose the great God had placed a man and woman in a certain inacces- sible island, wherein there were herbs and roots of many kinds, but no sort of fruit, grain or corn in it : And suppose he had given them a sufficiency of fruits and corn to support them fora year or two, and more, with a special command, to sow some of it, and plant immediately for the support of themselves and their posterity hereafter ; and assured then» also they should have many children. If this man and woman should eat up all their corn and fruit entirely, even that which they should habe sown or planted for thi it future support; then they and their children in ail tollowisg years would have beeti hard put to it to live upon eoirse roots dog out of the ground, a poor and scanty supply, and that with mach toil and labour : Now would it have been unjust with God to have left them and their children' to their constant hard labour and bard fare, without giv!ng them any new corn er fruit to plant or sow, or without providing better food for them ?' And suppose their children also neglected to cultivate and multiplythe best roots they could find, and several of them in every age fell into di,eaaea and died by the badness or scarcity of their provisions, would the vt7L. 1V, D D
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