of their paying supreme honour, and yielding constant obe→ dience to this glorious Monarch of the universe; in the mean time leaving them to their own reflections, and to their own choice; as being conscious to himself of their infinite obligations to yield everlasting obedience to his law?

And if, in this state of things, any of his creatures should venture to rise in rebellion against his glorious majesty, the way would be open for him to take such steps as would have the most effectual tendency to discountenance sin; to exalt God, to humble the sinner, and glorify grace; and to prepare the way for the confirmation of innumerable multitudes of intelligences, in holiness and happiness, to the best advantage. All his gracious plan lay open before him. He knew, from step to step, how intelligences would conduct, and how he himself would interpose and overrule, and how the whole would finally issue. And he practically said, "Now shall it be known what is in their hearts. And occasion shall be given to show what is in my heart. And it shall be known that I am the LORD. And the whole intelligent system shall be filled with my glory." And,

6. The state of things in the moral system was not such, immediately after the creation, as was suitable to the confirmation of intelligences in a way agreeable to the ends of moral government. God must have done all immediately, and without their so much as discerning their need of it; for there were, as yet, comparatively speaking, no means of confirmation. They had not had opportunity, in any instance, to see the infinitely evil nature and dreadful consequences of sin Nor did it yet appear what infinite abhorrence the Almighty had of iniquity, by any thing he had done: Nor did they so much as know their danger, and their need of the divine interposition. Things, therefore, were by no means ripe for a general confirmation.

Indeed, God could have confirmed created intelligences then, but not in a way so agreeable to the ends of moral government as afterwards, i. e. not so much to the honour of the moral governor, and to the spiritual advantage of his creatures. When satan, a glorious arch-angel, revolted, and drew off a third part, (perhaps,) of the inhabitants of heaven;

and when, for their sin, they were driven out from the presence of God, down to an eternal hell; and when the elect angels had stood by, and, with a perfect astonishment, beheld this unexpected revolt of their companions; and, with sacred dread, seen divine wrath blaze out from the eternal throne of heaven's almighty monarch, driving the rebel host from those celestial regions, down to darkness and endless woes; and when the elect angels soon after saw our first parents turn away from God, and, for their sin, driven out of. paradise, and all this lower world doomed to death; and when they had stood by 3 or 4000 years, and been spectators of the judgments inflicted by God on a wicked world; seen the general deluge; the miraculous destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, by fire from heaven; the ten plagues of Egypt; the overthrow of Pharaoh and his host in the Red sea; the carcasses of six hundred thousand Israelites fall in the wilderness, and the long series of calamities which God sent upon his people in the times of their judges, and in the reigns of their kings, till Israel and Judah were both carried away captive for their sins, and the glorious holy temple laid in ashes; and viewed all God's ways, even down to the birth and death of the MESSIAH, the most astonishing event that ever did, or ever will happen, throughout eternal ages; and beheld their sovereign Lord, who, in the beginning, had created the heaven and the earth, and whom, from their first existence, they had worshipped as the supreme God; as God over all blessed for ever, even him stepping into the room of apostate man, and dying in his stead, to make atonement for his sin: I say, when the elect angels had stood by, for 4000 years, and seen all these things, and had full time for consideration, their thoughts of God, of themselves, of sin, would be almost infinitely different from what they were immediately after their creation. And now, if God should see cause to confirm them, that they might never fall, it would appear to them a kindness infinitely great, and infinitely free. Their absolute dependance on God, and infinite .obligations to him, and the infinite malignity of sin, would naturally be so deeply impressed on their hearts, by an attentive view of all these things, as would greatly tend to their

everlasting confirmation; and prepare them to receive, with suitable gratitude, a kindness of such infinite value, at the hands of God.

The fall of their companions in holiness and happiness, and then of innocent man, would naturally lead them to see their own mutability, and make them feel their need of being held up by him, who is alone, by nature, unchangeable, and bring them to an absolute dependance on him. God's permitting others to fall, as great and good as themselves, would naturally lead them to see that God was under no obligations to keep them through their time of trial, which would induce them to have recourse to sovereign grace, and be always on their watch. A sight of the infinitely dreadful state of satan and his host, once their fellow-citizens, now bound in chains of guilt and despair, to the judgment of the great day, then before all worlds to be brought forth, judged, condemned, and doomed to the most intolerable pains of hell, never to end, would naturally tend to realize to them the horrible wickedness and dreadful nature of rising in rebellion against God, and make them tremble at the thought. And while they beheld all God's conduct towards mankind, from the fall of Adam to the death, resurrection, and exaltation of Christ, and looked forward to the final conflagration and consummation of all things, it would give them such a view of all God's moral perfections, shining forth in his moral government of the world, and set the infinitely evil nature and dreadful consequences of sin in such a light, as would have the strongest tendency to confirm them in everlasting love and obedience to the supreme Being, and dispose them to receive, at God's hands, a promise of their everlasting establishment, with the utmost gratitude.

The angels, who stood, being no where in scripture denominated ELECT, until after the exaltation of Christ, some have thought they were held in a state of trial till then; when by their confirmation, God's eternal designs of love towards them were manifested. And it is certain, that when they had been spectators of all God's works in heaven, earth and hell, through so long a period, must be in almost an infinitely better capacity to receive confirmation than immediately after their creation and their confirmation now would be infinite

ly more to God's honour than if it had been granted at their first existence; and their own humility, holiness, and happiness, be increased an hundred, or a thousand, or perhaps ten thousand fold.

Therefore,

7. On supposition that a third part were fallen and lost, yet it is easy to see how there may be eternally more holiness and happiness in the angelic world, than if sin and misery had been for ever unknown: for if their holiness and happiness be only an hundred times greater now, on the present plan, than otherwise it would have been, and if we allow for the happiness satan and his adherents lost, and for the misery which they undergo, yet what remains must be many millions more in the whole, than it otherwise would have been*. And on

* The truth of this may be easily seen, thus: Suppose the number of angels to be 3; and all remaining innocent to have one degree of holiness and happiness a-piece; the sum total would be 3 degrees of holiness and happiness. But if one falls, and the other two increase in holiness and happiness an hundred fold, then the sum total of holiness and happiness will be 200 degrees. But if the misery of the damned is augmented in the same proportion as the happiness of the blessed, then the misery of one lost angel will be 100 degrees; besides the happiness he lost, which was supposed to be 1 degree. Now, therefore, subtract 101 from 200, and the remainder will be 99; that is, there will be 99 degrees of happiness left. And if this will be the case, were the number of the angels supposed to be 3, it will also, proportionably, in any given number. So that, if there are but half so many good angels, as there are now supposed to be of mankind inhabiting the earth, yet the clear gain will be above 96 hundred millions of degrees of happiness more than if all had stood; as will appear from the following table. N. B. The number of the present inhabitants of the earth is supposed to be 729 millions. I will suppose the number of good angels to be only 300 millions, which is less than half.

ly let us realize what must have been the reflections of the ho ly angels, from time to time, as new scenes have opened to their view, and what their reflections must eternally be, when they have seen God's grand plan finished at the day of judgment; and we cannot doubt but that their humility, holiness, and happiness, will be augmented at least an hundred fold.

1. Reflections of the elect angels on the unreasonable rebellion; the unexpected fall; the everlasting punishment of satan and his legions, once their companions in bliss.

"How art thou fallen, O Lucifer, son of the morning! from standing near the throne of God, into an eternal hell!. Yesterday joining with us in the songs of heaven; now under the everlasting displeasure of God, banished to endiess wo!

"How durst you rise in rebellion against heaven's glorious monarch! And how infinitely vile the shocking deed! What more reasonable than to pay supreme honour to the supreme Being, and to be in subjection to the Author and Lord of all things, to whom the throne belongs, and exult in his supremacy, and rejoice in him, and in his government! Or what more vile and ungrateful, than to turn enemies to the great Being, the author, proprietor, and governor of all created intelligences, and to attempt to overturn all order and harmony in the system! For such exalted intelligences, in such a happy situation, under such great obligations to the Deity for bounties already received, attended with the prospect of endless joys in his presence, to rise in rebellion thus! No wonder heaven's almighty monarch, in regard to his own honour and the good of his kingdom, has banished them from his presence, and destined them to be everlasting monuments of his wrath.

"But, Oh, how unexpected, surprising, and shocking, are these dreadful scenes! And is it so? And are they fallen? Who could have thought it! Such holy beings to rise in rebellion against INFINITE HOLINESS! So good a taste for order and harmony, and yet have broke the orders of heaven! So strong inducements, from duty and interest, to persevere, that one would have thought such an apostacy quite impossible! And are they fallen? For ever fallen and lost!