179

CHAP. VII.

Of the Government of God, confidered as a Scheme or Conftitution, imperfectly comprehended.

TH

HOUGH it be, as it cannot but be, CHAP. acknowledged, that the Analogy of VII. Nature gives a strong Credibility, to the ge neral Doctrine of Religion, and to the feve ral particular things contained in it, confidered as fo many Matters of Fact; and likewife that it fhews this Credibility not to be destroyed by any Notions of Neceffity: Yet ftill, Objections may be infifted upon, against the Wisdom, Equity and Goodness of the divine Government implied in the Notion of Religion, and against the Method by which this Government is conducted; to which Objections Analogy can be no direct Answer. For the Credibility, or the certain Truth, of a Matter of Fact, does not immediately prove any thing concerning the Wisdom or Goodnefs of it: and Analogy can do no more, immediately or directly, than fhew fuch and fuch things to be true or credible, confidered only as Matters of Fact. But ftill, if, upon Suppofition of a moral Conftitution of ÑaN 2

ture

PART ture and a moral Government over it, AnaI. logy fuggefts and makes it credible, that this Government must be a Scheme, Syftem or Conftitution of Government, as diftinguished from a number of fingle unconnected Acts of diftributive Justice and Goodness; and likewife, that it must be a Scheme, fo imperfectly comprehended, and of fuch a Sort in other Refpects, as to afford a direct general Answer to all Objections against the Justice and Goodness of it; then Analogy is, remotely, of great Service in anfwering thofe Objections; both by fuggesting the Answer, and fhewing it to be a credible one.

Now this, upon Inquiry, will be found to be the Cafe. For, First, Upon Suppofition that God exercifes a moral Government over the World, the Analogy of his natural Government fuggefts and makes it credible, that his moral Government must be a Scheme, quite beyond our Comprehenfion: and this affords a general Anfwer to all Objections against the Justice and Goodness of it. And, Secondly, A more diftinct Obfervation of fome particular things contained in God's Scheme of natural Government, the like things being fuppofed, by Analogy, to be contained in his moral Government, will farther fhew, how little Weight is to be laid upon these Objections.

I. Upon

I. Upon Suppofition that God exercises a CHAP. moral Government over the World, the Ana- VII. logy of his natural Government fuggefts and makes it credible, that his moral Government must be a Scheme, quite beyond our Comprehenfion: And this affords a general Anfwer to all Objections against the Justice and Goodnefs of it. It is most obvious, Analogy renders it highly credible, that upon Suppofition of a moral Government, it must be a Scheme; for the World and the whole natural Government of it, appears to be fo: to be a Scheme, Syftem or Conftitution, whose Parts correfpond to each other, and to a Whole; as really as any Work of Art, or as any particular Model of a civil Conftitution and Government. In this great Scheme of the natural World, Individuals have various peculiar Relations to other Individuals of their own Species. And whole Species are, we find, variously related to other Species, upon this Earth. Nor do we know, how much farther thefe Kinds of Relations may extend. And, as there is not any Action or natural Event, which we are acquainted with, fo fingle and unconnected, as not to have a Refpect to fome other Actions and Events: fo poffibly each of them, when it has not an immediate, may yet have a remote, natural Relation to other Actions and Events, much N 3 beyond

PART beyond the Compafs of this present World. I. There seems indeed nothing, from whence we can fo much as make a Conjecture, whether all Creatures, Actions and Events, throughout the whole of Nature, have Relations to each other, But, as it is obvious, that all Events have future unknown Confequences: fo, if we trace any, as far as we can go, into what is connected with it; we fhall find, that if fuch Event were not connected with fomewhat farther in Nature unknown to us, fomewhat both past and present, such Event could not poffibly have been at all. Nor can we give the whole Account of any one thing whatever of all its Caufes, Ends, and neceffary Adjuncts; thofe Adjuncts, I mean, without which it could not have been. By this most astonishing Connexion, these reciprocal Correfpondencies and mutual Relations, every thing which we fee in the Course of Nature, is actually brought about. And things feemingly the most infignificant imaginable, are perpetually obferved to be neceffary Conditions to other things of the greatest Importance: So that any one thing whatever, may, for ought we know to the contrary, be a neceffary Condition to any other. The natural World then, and natural Government of it, being fuch an incomprehenfible Scheme; fo incomprehenfible, that a Man muft, really in the literal Senfe, know

nothing

nothing at all, who is not fenfible of his Ig-CHA P. norance in it: this immediately fuggefts, and VII. ftrongly fhews the Credibility, that the moral World and Government of it may be fo too. Indeed the natural and moral Conftitution and Government of the World are so connected, as to make up together but one Scheme: and it is highly probable, that the first is formed and carried on merely in Subferviency to the latter; as the vegetable World is for the animal, and organized Bodies for Minds. But the thing intended here, is, without inquiring how far the Administration of the natural World is fubordinate to That of the moral, only to observe the Credibility, that one should be analogous or fimilar to the other: that therefore every Act of divine Justice and Goodness, may be fuppofed to look much beyond itself, and its immediate Object; may have fome Reference to other Parts of God's moral Administration, and to a general moral Plan and that every Circumftance of this his moral Government, may be adjusted beforehand with a View to the whole of it. Thus for Example: the determined Length of Time, and the Degrees and Ways, in which Virtue is to remain in a State of Warfare and Discipline, and in which Wickednefs is permitted to have its Progress; the Times appointed for the Execution of Juftice; the appointed Inftruments of it; the Kinds of Rewards

N 4