the Efteem of his Fellow-creatures, and, in general, to caufe a Man to pafs through Life more fafely and inoffenfively, more honourably and creditably, with greater Eafe to himself, as well as Usefulness to others, than he would otherwise do.

And on the other Hand, a vicious and finful Course not only is attended with inward Diffatisfaction and Remorfe, with the Stings and Agonies of a Man's own guilty Mind, than which, where it is in any great Degree, nothing can have a greater Tendency to render a Man miferable here on Earth; but it frequently expofeth him to outward Evils and Troubles. Pride and Envy, Malice and Revenge, Cruelty and Injustice, Idlenefs and Debauchery, and Diffoluteness of Manners, tend to destroy the bodily Health, to wafte the worldly Subftance, to hurt a Man's Credit, to expose him to Poverty and Indigence, to Shame and Contempt, to many Contentions and Vexations, and frequently bring great Evils and Mischiefs, not only upon himself, but upon his Family and Children too. Such is the prefent Constitution of Things. The Proverbs of Solomon abound with wife Obfervations to this Purpose, drawn from Experience, concerning the good Effects of Wisdom and Virtue, and the pernicious Confequences of Vice K 2

and

and Wickedness in this present State. And this holdeth not only with refpect to particular Perfons, but to large Communities, and may be justly regarded as the Appointment and Conftitution of the great Ruler of the World, who hath thereby given a fenfible Proof to confidering Minds of his Approbation of Righteoufnefs and Virtue, and his juft Displeasure against Vice and Wickedness; that he is the Rewarder of the one, and Punisher of the other. As to the contrary Appearances arifing from the Sufferings of the righteous, and the Profperity of the wicked, this fhall be fully confidered afterwards, when we come to answer the Objections that are urged against the Goodness and Righteousness of Divine Providence.

But fecondly, Befides this ordinary stated Course and Conftitution of Things, which fhews that we are under a wife and righteous Government, let us take a brief View of fome of the more extraordinary Difpenfations of Providence towards Mankind from Time to Time, whereby it will appear that from the Beginning of the World various Methods have been taken, in the Course of the divine Administrations, for promoting Religion and moral Improvement among Men. The Views which the Scriptures give us of God's various Difpen

3

fations

fations towards Mankind from the Beginning, furnish convincing Proofs of his Concern for human Happiness, and that he hath done a great deal to inftruct and direct Men in the Knowledge and Practice of their Duty, to maintain a Senfe of Religion and Virtue in the World, and to difcourage and restrain Vice and Wickednefs. It appeareth from the Accounts there given us, that the firft Parents of the human Race were brought into the World, not in an helpless infant State, but in a State of Maturity, and were placed in an happy Situation, and in advantageous Circumstances for preserving their Purity and Innocence; that to fupply their Want of Obfervation and Experience, God vouchfafed to admit them to a near Intercourfe with him, and gave them extraordinary Notices of his Will and of their Duty: that when they violated the particular Command given them for a Trial of their Obedience, and Sin entered into the World, it pleafed him to make fome Alterations in their Circumstances, fuited to their lapfed State, and fitted to reclaim, to exercise, and difcipline them and that, as he gave awful Indications of his juft Displeasure against Sin, fo he fhewed his Readiness to receive them to Favour upon their Repentance, and gave them encouraging Inti

K 3

mations

mations of his gracious Defigns for recovering them from their fallen State,

The Knowledge of these Things, as well as of God's Creation of the World, and of his Formation of the first human Pair, might be easily transmitted and preserved fresh and uncorrupted in thofe early Ages of the World, and tended to furnish great Advantages for Religion, additional to the common Light of Nature and Reason. To which were added, the fetting apart the seventh Day to facred Purposes; the Inftitution of Sacrifices, both in Acknowledgment of the divine Dominion, and as a Rite of Atonement, for keeping alive upon the Minds of Men a Senfe of God's Juftice, and of their own Guilt, and of his Reconcileablenefs to penitent Sinners; the open Declaration God was pleased to make of his Acceptance of righteous Abel and his Offering, and his rejecting Cain and his Oblation; the distinguished Piety of Enoch, and the rewarding him by tranflating him from Earth to Heaven, which exhibited an illuftrious Proof of a future State; and finally, the raifing up eminent Perfons to be Preachers of Righteousness: All these Things, which are plainly intimated in the fhort Account given us in Scripture of the divine Adminiftrations during that firft Period of the World, had a manifeft Ten

dency

dency to maintain a Senfe of God and his Providence, and of the Importance of religious and moral Obligations on the Minds of Men.

When, notwithstanding these Advantages, all Flesh had corrupted his Way, and Mankind in general were funk into an amazing Degree of Vice and Wickednefs, beyond any Hope of being reclaimed by ordinary Methods, it pleafed God to fend a destructive universal Deluge to sweep away that whole wicked Race from off the Face of the Earth; which fignal A& of Vengeance made a most awful Difplay of God's righteous Providence, and his Deteftation against Vice and Wickedness, and was defigned for the Benefit of Mankind in all fucceeding Generations to the End of the World. And at the fame Time he gave a most remarkable Proof of his distinguishing Regard to Piety and Virtue in the Prefervation of Noah and his Family, to be the Seed of a new Generation of Men. The Remembrance of this great Event, fome Traditions of which have fpread almoft univerfally among the Nations, the renewed Revelations of the divine Will, and the Publication of the Law of God in its main Principles, which was then made to this fecond Father of Mankind, and in him to the whole hu