veals to us the contrast of moral good and evil, and compels our reason to ascribe perfect goodness to the Supreme Source of all being, discloses also the mournful fact, that moral evil does exist and prevail widely through the universe. How, then, can we explain this fact, if there be a God of infinite power and goodness? Surely, either the power or the will to remove it must be wanting. If the power, then how can God be Almighty? If the will, then how can He be infinitely good? The minds of men, as reasonable beings, would acquiesce readily in the simple and glorious truth, that there is a God, All-wise, Almighty, and All-perfect; but this fact, the existence and power of moral evil, and that for long ages, flings them back into sceptical doubt and perplexity. The infidel appeals to it with a kind of malicious joy, to warrant his own unbelief; and even the devout Christian is often afraid to trust himself into these deep waters, and, while conscious of a doubt still unsatisfied, is tempted to stifle it, if possible, by a violent effort of the will. But, in spite of these efforts, the doubt and perplexity still recur. This dark shadow, which shut the heathen world in a hopeless gloom, hovers still over the various schools of Christian theology; and the bright discovery of Divine love in the Gospel has not succeeded in driving away entirely this pall of night from the spiritual heavens.

When the faith of the Christian borrows the aid of reason to remove the darkness, it tends to lose itself in two opposite labyrinths, from which no outlet is found. In one direction we encounter the Manichean doctrine,

that there are two original independent powers of Good and Evil, the Ormusd and Ahriman of Zend theology, which contend with balanced might for the dominion of the universe. In the other, we meet a Christian fatalism, which only avoids the admission of an Evil Power, by introducing dualism into the bosom of the Godhead. The Supreme Sovereign is placed above the laws of righteousness, which He has implanted in the heart of His own creatures. Moral good and evil, happiness and misery, salvation and ruin, are viewed as alike the results of His arbitrary and sovereign will. Between the Scylla of Manichean heresy, and the deeper gulf of this blasphemous perversion of truth, which makes God himself the Author of all evil, how shall we guide the vessel of our reason in safety, so as not to make shipwreck of our faith? How shall we avoid either limiting the Almighty power, or denying the spotless and perfect holiness, of the God whom our hearts inwardly adore?

All the difficulties which obscure the wisdom and goodness of their Maker from the eyes of men, and tempt numbers to doubt even the firm and simple conclusion of awakened reason, when it assures them of His power and Godhead, resolve themselves into this one question -the nature of moral evil, and the righteousness and goodness of God in the moral government of the world. It is the presence of moral evil alone which disposes men to doubt the goodness and wisdom of the Most High. It is the fact of moral evil, borne with, but not removed, which gives force to all their questionings

against the ways of Providence. It is the solemn threatening of judgment to come upon the workers of iniquity, which forms the stumbling-block of the unbeliever, in coming to the word of God, and persuades him that the Bible contradicts the pure instincts of perfect benevolence. If this one problem were solved, all other petty cavils would die away of themselves. While darkness broods over it, these spectres will start up in ten thousand forms; and every part of God's word, every act of his Providence, will be a fresh occasion for unwilling perplexity in the humble, and for open blasphemy in the proud and arrogant sinner. It is a problem, too, with which it seems impossible to deal separately, by natural reason and the light of supernatural revelation. Without the light which the word of God supplies, we cannot even make any approach to a solution of the immense difficulty. And when we take Revelation for our guide, the darkness which seems removed in some directions, thickens and deepens in others; and all the miseries and wrongs of the present life seem often more tolerable to the awakened reason, than the prospect of the retribution which is declared to await the rebellious in the world to come.

It is comparatively an easy task to rove through all creation, and come back laden with evidence of the Divine power and greatness, and of the bounty displayed in the formation of innumerable worlds. The mind, enriched with the treasures of science, and gifted with eloquence, may compose a beautiful and glowing panegyric on the countless tokens of the Divine beneficence.

But amidst all the beauty of these lovely songs, the plague-spot of the spirit will remain untouched and unhealed, unless a cure can be found for those cruel suspicions which flow out of the prevalence of sin and sorrow in the present life, and the repeated warnings of strange judgment to come hereafter on the workers of iniquity. If further light, however feeble and imperfect, can be thrown upon this mystery, it will be a real and lasting boon to the Church of Christ, and, indirectly, a new power for the triumphs of Divine truth in the world. If this mystery remains in total darkness, all declamation on the benevolence of the Almighty, and attempts to answer cavils, are almost utterly vain. The believer must be content to own himself a child, who cannot answer the aspersions thrown out against the Father whom he loves, but believes that his Father will himself scatter them in due time.

To throw some light upon this great problem, and thereby to vindicate the wisdom and goodness of Jehovah, is the aim of the following Essay. May He who searches the deep things of God, bestow a blessing upon the effort, and enable us to pierce a little further, in the spirit of reverence, into the thick darkness which surrounds the throne of the Most High!

CHAPTER I.

ON THE POWER OF GOD.

THE word of God reveals to us the existence of holy angels, who delight in the service of their Creator, and render Him the tribute of their continual praise. It speaks of a time when man himself was upright and sinless, and surrounded by the beauty of an earthly Paradise. And when it withdraws the veil from the future, we see multitudes of our race recovered to perfect holiness, and dwelling in the presence of God, where they enjoy a happiness undimmed by one cloud of

sorrow.

Now we may conceive a plan of Providence where nothing should meet the eye but these joyful images of peace and purity. We may picture to ourselves the worlds which science reveals in the depths of infinite space, all peopled in succession with holy beings, like unfallen man or sinless angels, who should abide in spotless innocence and perfect love for ever. From these innumerable worlds we may imagine the hosannahs of holy worship to rise perpetually before the throne of the Most High; while the variety of wisdom

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