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men in this world are far from that high relish for moral beauty, which is needful to render them good judges, on a plan so altogether holy and divine as this must certainly be. And while we are conscious to ourselves, that, with Peter, we are apt to savour not the things which be of God, but the things which be of men;" and that our minds lie under many biasses and prejudices; too strongly attached to our private interest; but little concerned for the honour of the Divine Majesty, or for the honour of his government, and the welfare of his everlasting kingdom; little caring for any thing, further than our own interest is concerned; too much like the Israelites in the wilderness, who were always murmuring against God and against Moses; although God was all the while taking the wisest methods with them, and Moses was faithful to him that appointed him; but if their appetites and desires were crossed, and they disappointed in their narrow, selfish schemes, they could see no beauty in God's conduct, nor glory in his grand designs, but wished themselves back again to Egypt: not caring what became of the honour of God's great name, and quite stupid to all the noble ends God had in view, in their separation from the rest of the world, to be his peculiar people. I say, while we are conscious to this low spiritedness; to this mean, narrow, selfish temper, and feel ourselves so much untouched with the infinite greatness and glory of the Deity, and so little interested in, and concerned for the honour of his great name, and the everlasting establishment of his authority, and general good of the moral system, we cannot but be sensible that we are very unfit judges on the beauty and goodness of his plan; 'as it is easy to see the Israelites were, on the wisdom and beauty of God's conduct to them in the wilderness. They were too low spirited, and of too mean and selfish views, to be struck with the beauty of those noble and God-like designs God had in view, in their separation from the rest of the world. To God it appeared of vast importance, as things were then situate in the world, to give a check to the universal spread of idolatry and ignorance, and to revive the knowledge of the true God, and of the true religion. And in a view to these noble ends, all his conduct in Egypt, at the Red sea, and in the wilderness,

appeared to him perfectly wise and beautiful. To the Israelites, nothing appeared of importance, but that their interest, ease, and comfort, should be consulted, and provided for: which not being done to their minds in the wilderness, they heartily repented they ever hearkened to Moses, or ever left Egypt, and would have deserted Moses, made a captain, and returned, had not Almightiness interposed. And the idols, leaks, onions, and flesh-pots of Egypt would have given them content; while the name of the God of Abraham sunk into universal contempt by the means, among all nations, and idolatry become more established than ever; as it would have done, had they deserted Moses and returned, as was by them proposed. Now it is plain, this people were no proper judges of the wisdom and beauty of God's conduct. They were of so ill a taste, and their temper was so different from God's, that they would naturally be blind to the beauty of his ways, and always stand ready to quarrel with him.

Had their temper, from the very first, been right, and their taste good, they might have had a sufficient insight into God's designs, although very far from a full view. I say, a sufficient insight into God's designs, to have discovered a great deal of wisdom in his conduct, in suffering Pharaoh to exalt himself and bid defiance, till all God's wonders were wrought in Egypt; and afterwards to harden his heart, and pursue Israel, and drive into the midst of the Red sea; that there God might show his power, and cause his name to be declared throughout all the earth: that Israel might know that he was the LORD, and might in ages to come, tell their children, and their children's children, of all these mighty works: that they might know that the gods of the heathen were no gods, and might for ever cleave to the GoD of their fathers.

Nor had they the least reason, at any one time, from the day they passed through the Red sea, to dislike one step which God took: nor would they have done it, had they a right disposition. Yea, a good taste would have enabled them to have seen much wisdom in all God's ways.

"Here

in this wilderness, where there is neither bread, nor water, nor flesh, even here is a good place for the God of Abraham, our father, to show his wisdom, power, and goodness, and train

us up to a sense of his all-sufficiency, and bring us to live wholly upon him, as children upon a father, and to be wholly devoted to him." Thus might they have thought. And in→ stead of murmuring at every new difficulty, and then falling under the frowns of the Almighty, they might have spent their whole time in prayer and praise, till they arrived at Mount Sinai, and while they were setting up the tabernacle, and while the spies were gone to search out the land. And had they done so; had they been of such a temper, and spent their time thus, those 14 or 15 months, all in prayer and praise, the whole congregation would have been prepared to have disregarded the ten spies, and cheerfully to have joined with Caleb and Joshua, saying, "If the Lord is with us, there is no danger. Have not we all seen what he did in Egypt, at the Red sea, and since? And he that has done these things cannot want power or willingness to do what remains, unless, by our unbelief and perverseness, we should provoke him to cast us off." And so they might have marched right on to Canaan, driven out the inhabitants, and taken possession. But they were of a temper every way the reverse; and they acted as they felt: and it happened to them accordingly. Their carcasses were doomed to fall in the wilderness: they behaved like wild bulls in a net upon the occasion : blasphemed God; stormed at Moses: till God was obliged to strike them dead by hundreds, and by thousands, from time to time, before he could subdue them.

Now "they were our ensamples, and these things were written for our instruction*." Let us take heed, therefore, that we do not murmur at the divine conduct in the government of the world, as they did. Nor venture blasphemously to say, "he has brought us out of Egypt into this wilderness on purpose to destroy us. He has suffered mankind to fall into a state of sin and misery, that he might delight himself in the eternal torments of the damned." Whereas, the Israelites would not have fallen in the wilderness, had they not perversely despised the good land, which flowed with milk and honey; and refused to give credit to the revelation they had of God's readiness to lead them into Canaan. [And let it be

* 1 Cor. x. 2

remembered that it was not God's decree, but their own dearly beloved lusts and corruptions, which influenced them to conduct as they did.] Nor shall we ever be sentenced to hell, unless we despise the glories of heaven, and prefer the leeks and onions of Egypt; the pleasures of sin and of this world; and so turn our backs up on God, and refuse to give credit to the revelation made to us in the gospel of God's readiness to be reconciled through Christ, and to grant us his Holy Spirit to lead us on to the heavenly Canaan; and refuse to comply with the gospel-way of life. And if we do act thus wickedly, it is as reasonable we should perish, as it was that the carcasses of the wicked Israelites should fall in the wilderness. And as their carcasses falling in the wilderness was over-ruled by infinite wisdom, for the general good of that community, and to fill the whole earth with his glory; so will the righteous punishment of the wicked eternally in hell be over-ruled to the good of the intelligent system, and God will be exalted throughout all his dominions. Read Revelations xix. 1. 6.

The wicked Israelites did not feel themselves to blame, to be sure, not much to blame, for all their murmurings and rebellions. "Who among mortals," they were ready to say, "would conduct otherwise than we do, under the like circumstances! We were always against leaving Egypt, and entering on so wild an expedition. God has contrived it on purpose for our destruction! Fools that we were, ever to leave the flesh-pots of Egypt! Would to God we had lived and died there! This had been our highest interest. Therefore, let us make a captain, and return, and make our peace with the Egyptians as well as we can, and submit to our bondage for ever." When, therefore, the judgments of God came upon them in such a manner, they would naturally be so far from seeing the justice or wisdom of the divine conduct, that their hearts would be full of blasphemous thoughts against God and Moses; and the whole divine conduct would appear dark and unaccountable, to the highest degree. And in all this they show the very spirit of unhumbled, obstinate sinners, who are insensible of their sin and guilt, and desert of eternal damnation, and are ready to say, "God brought us

into being on purpose to damn us: we had no hand in it we would not have chose it: would to God we had never been born! Oh that we could return to non-existence! that would be our true interest;" and instead of seeing the wisdom and justice of God, in his dispensations towards them, they are full of blasphemous thoughts, and the whole of the divine conduct appears to them' dark and unaccountable, to the highest degree.

Had the Israelites been thoroughly sensible how hateful their Egyptian temper, their carnal disposition, their infidelity, and their continual murmurings were, and how much to blame they appeared in the sight of God, the justice of the divine conduct would by them have been easily seen; and that would have prepared them to have seen the wisdom of his ways too. "It is fit such wretches as we should be shut out of the promised land, and our carcasses should fall in this wilderness; and righteous art thou, O Lord, in our doom. We have but our just deserts. No wonder the earth swallows up such monsters, and that thousands are struck dead in a moment, who are guilty of such crimes. The honour of divine Majesty requires this severity; and even the good of our posterity makes it necessary." Thus would they have thought. Nor can unhumbled, obstinate sinners, ever discern the wisdom and beauty of the divine government in general, until first their uncircumcised hearts are humbled, and they cordially approve of the justice of God's law, by which they stand condemned; and are "born again;" as it is written, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." For it is the "pure in heart," and they only, that "shall SEE God;" for " the natural man," who is destitute of a spiritual holy, divine taste," discerneth not the things of the spirit of God;" seeth not the divine beauty of the law or of the gospel, and, for the same reason, is blind to the wisdom, glory, and beauty of God's universal plan; so very blind, that the full and clear revelation to be made of it at the day of judgment, how convincing soever it may be to their reason and conscience, will be far from suiting their hearts. Nor will the beauty and amiableness of it be by them ever discerned; for, as the obstinate Israelites, whose carcasses fell in the wil

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