PROOFS FROM THE LIGHT OF NATURE. 



just views of the attributes which must neces 

 sarily be displayed in his moral administra 

 tion. 



When this conclusion is once admitted, it 

 removes the perplexities, and solves all the 

 difficulties which naturally arise in the mind, 

 when it contemplates the present disordered state 

 of the moral world, and the apparently capricious 

 manner in which punishments and rewards are 

 dispensed. Realizing this important truth, we 

 need not be surprised at the unequal distribution 

 of the Divine favours among the various nations 

 and tribes of mankind ; since they are all placed 

 on the first stage of their existence, and eternity 

 is rich in resources, to compensate for all the 

 defects and inequalities of fortune which now 

 exist. We need not be overwhelmed with an 

 guish when we behold the pious and philanthro 

 pic youth cut down at the commencement at his 

 virtuous career, since those buds of virtue which 

 began to unfold themselves with so much beauty 

 in the present life, will be fully expanded and 

 bring forth nobler fruits of righteousness in that 

 life which will never end. We need not wonder 

 when we behold tyrants and profligates triumph 

 ing, and the excellent ones of the earth trampled 

 under foot, since the future world will present a 

 scene of equitable administration, in which the 

 sorrows of the upright will be turned into joy, 

 the triumphs of the wicked into confusion and 

 shame, and every one rewarded according to his 

 works. We need not harass our minds with 

 perplexing doubts, respecting the wisdom and 

 equity of the dispensations of Providence ; since 

 the moral government of God extends beyond 

 the limits of this world, and all its dark and in 

 tricate mazes will be fully unravelled in the light 

 of eternity. 



-&quot; The. great eternal scheme 



Involving all, and in a perfect whole 

 Uniting, as the prospect wider spreads, 

 To Reason s eye will then clear up apace. 



Then shall we see the cause 



Why unassuming &quot;Worth in secret liv d, 



And died neglected : why the good man s share 



In life was gall and bitterness of soul ; 



Why the lone widow and her orphans pin d 



In starving solitude, while Luxury, 



In palaces, lay straining her low thought, 



To form unreal wants ; why heaven-born Truth 



And Moderation fair, wore the red marks 



Of Superstition s scourge ; why licens d Pain, 



That cruel spoiler, that imbosom d foe, 



Imbitter d all our bliss. Ye good distrest ! 



Ye noble Few! who here unbending stand 



Beneath life s pressure, yet bear up awhile, 



And what your bounded view, which only saw 



A little part, deemed evil, is no more : 



The storms of Wintry time will quickly pass. 



And one unbounded Spring encircle all. 



Thompson s Winter. 



Thus it appears, that, although God, in the 

 general course of his providence, has connected 

 nappiness with the observance of his laws, and 

 misery with the violation of them, in order to 

 display the rectitude of his nature, and his ha 

 tred of moral evil ; vet he has, at the same time, 



in numerous instances, permitted vice to tri 

 umph, and virtue to be persecuted and oppress 

 ed, to convince us, that his government of hu 

 man beings is not bounded by the limits of time, 

 but extends into the eternal world, where the 

 system of his moral administration will be com 

 pleted, his wisdom and rectitude justified, and 

 the mysterious ways of his Providence com 

 pletely unravelled. 



This argument might have been farther illus 

 trated from a consideration of those moral pe. 

 ceptions implanted in the human constitution, 

 and which may be considered as having the 

 force of moral laws proceeding from the Gover 

 nor of the universe. The difference between 

 right and wrong, virtue and vice, is founded upon 

 the nature&quot; of things, and is perceptible by every 

 intelligent agent whose moral feelings are not al 

 together blunted by vicious indulgences. Were 

 a man to affirm that there is no difference be 

 tween justice and injustice, love and hatred, 

 truth and falsehood ; that it is equally the same 

 whether we be faithful to a friend or betray him 

 to his enemies, whether servants act with fide 

 lity to their masters or rob them of their pro 

 perty, whether rulers oppress iheir subjects or 

 promote their interests, and whether parents 

 nourish their children with tenderness, or smo 

 ther them in their cradles he would at once 

 be denounced as a fool and a madman, and his 

 sed out of society. The difference between such 

 actions is eternal and unchangeable, and every 

 moral agent is endued with a faculty which en 

 ables him to perceive it. We can choose to 

 perform the one class of actions and to refrain 

 from the other ; we can comply with the voice 

 of conscience which deters us from the one, 

 and excites us to the other, or we can resist 

 its dictates, and we can judge whether our ac 

 tions deserve reward or punishment. Now, 

 if God has endued us with such moral percep 

 tions and capacities, is it reasonable to suppose, 

 that it is equally indifferent to him whether we 

 obey or disobey the laws he has prescribed? 

 Can we ever suppose, that He who governs the 

 universe is an unconcerned spectator of the good 

 or evil actions that happen throughout his do 

 minions 1 or that he has left man to act, with 

 impunity, according to his inclinations, whether 

 they be right or wrong ? If auch suppositions 

 cannot be admitted, it follows that man is ac 

 countable for his actions, and that it must be an 

 essential part of the Divine government to bring 

 every action into judgment, and to punish or re 

 ward his creatures according to their works. 

 And if it appear, in point of fact, that such retri 

 butions are not fully awarded in the present 

 state, nor a visible distinction made between the 

 righteous and the violators of his law, we must 

 necessarily admit the conclusion, that the full 

 and equitable distribution of punishments and 

 rewards is reserved to a future world, when a 



