such occurrences to proceed from God none of the other acts can or will be performed attentive consideration is needful to beget knowledge and persuasion these to breed affection and practice There are many who in such cases are no-wise apprehensive of God's special Providence or affected with it because they do not consider or do not consider wisely and intelligently Some are very inobservant and careless in regard to things of this nature so drowzy and heedless as not to attend to what-ever passeth or to mind what God acteth in the world such as those of whom the Prophet saith The Harp and the Viol the Tabret and Pipe and Wine are in their feasts but they regard not the work of the Lord nor the operation of his hands that is their minds are so amused by wanton divertisements their hearts are so immersed in sensual enjoyments as no-wise to observe the most notable occurrences of Providence Others although they do ken and regard what is done as matter of news or story entertaining curiosity and talk yet out of sloth or stupidity do little consider it or study whence it springeth contenting themselves with none or with any superficial account which fancy or appearance suggesteth like beasts they do take in things obvious to their sense and perhaps stand gazing on them but do not make any careful reflexion or inquiry into their original causes and reasons taking as a dog when he biteth the stone flung at him or as a child that is angry with the log he falleth on what-ever appeareth next to be the principal cause such as the Psalmist again toucheth when he saith A brutish man knoweth not neither doth a fool understand this and as he doth acknowledg himself on one occasion to have been So foolish was I and ignorant I was as a beast before thee Others pretend to consider much and seem very inquisitive yet being misguided by vain prejudices or foul affections do not consider wisely or well understand these matters the result of their care and study about them being to father them on wrong causes ascribing them to the meer conduct and agency of visible causes hurried by a necessary swindge or rolling on by a casual fluctuation of things not descrying God's hand in them but profanely discarding and disclaiming it such as those in the Psalms who so reflected on Providence as to say How doth God know and is there knowledge in the Most High The Lord doth not see neither doth the God of Jacob regard it such as hath been the brood of Epicurean and profane Considerers in all times who have earnestly plodded and strained their wits to exclude God from any inspection or influence upon our affairs Some indeed there have been so very dull and stupid or so perverse and profane as not to discern God's Hand when it was made bare raised up and stretched out in the atchievement of most prodigious works not to reade Providence when set forth in the largest and fairest print such as those of whom 't is said in the Psalm Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt and those of whom 't is observed in the Gospel Though he had done so many miracles before them yet they believed not such as the mutinous people who although they beheld the earth swallowing up Corah with his Complices and a Fire from the Lord consuming the men that offered Incense yet presently did fall a-charging Moses and Aaron saying Ye have killed the People of the Lord. No wonder then if many do not perceive the same Hand when it is wrapp'd up in a complication with inferiour causes when it is not lifted up so high or so far extended in miraculous performances The special Providence of God in events here effected or ordered by him is indeed commonly not discernible without good judgment and great care it is not commonly impressed upon events in characters so big and clear as to be legible to every eye or to any eye not endued with a sharp perspicacy not applying an industrious heedfulness the tracts thereof are too fine and subtil to be descried by a dimme sight with a transient glance or upon a gross view it is seldome so very conspicuous that persons incredulous or any-wise indisposed to admit it can easily be convinced thereof or constrained to acknowledg it it is often upon many accounts from many causes very obscure and not easily discernible to the most sagacious most watchful most willing observers For the instruments of Providence being free agents acting with unaccountable variety nothing can happen which may not be imputed to them with some colourable pretence Divine and humane influences are so twisted and knit together that it is hard to sever them The manner of Divine efficacy is so very soft and gentle that we cannot easily trace its footsteps God designeth not commonly to exert his hand in a notorious way but often purposely doth conceal it Whereas also it is not fit to charge upon God's special hand of Providence any event wherein special ends of wisedom or goodness do not shine it is often hard to discover such ends which usually are wrap'd in perplexities because God acteth variously according to the circumstances of things and the disposition capacity or state of objects so as to doe the same thing for different ends and different things for the same end because there are different ends unto which Providence in various order and measure hath regard which our short and narrow prospect cannot reach because God in prosecution of his ends is not wont to proceed in the most direct and compendious way but windeth about in a large circuit enfolding many concurrent and subordinate designs because the expediency of things to be permitted or performed doth not consist in single acts or events but in many conspiring to one common end because we cannot apprehend the consequences nor ballance the conveniencies of things in order to good ends because we are apt to measure things by their congruity to our opinions expectations and affections because many proceedings of God depend upon grounds inaccessible to our apprehension such as his own secret Decrees the knowledge of mens thoughts close purposes clandestine designes true qualifications and merits his prescience of contingent events and what the result will be from the combination of numberless causes because sometimes he doth act in methods of Wisdom and by rules of Justice surpassing our capacity to know either from the finiteness of our nature or the feebleness of our reason or the meanness of our state and circumstances here because also the Divine administration of affairs hath no compleat determination or final issue here that being reserved to the great day of reckoning and judgment It is further also expedient that many occurrences should be puzzling to us to quash our presumption to exercise our faith to quicken our industry to engage us upon adoring that Wisedom which we cannot comprehend Upon such accounts for such causes which time will
the Plot was laid that the Counsellours should despise it and yet not smother it that the King instantly by a light darted into his mind should descry it these things so happily meeting may argue God who mouldeth the hearts who guideth the hands who enlightneth the minds of men to have been engaged in the detection of this day 's black Conspiracy Such are some characters of special Providence each of which singly appearing in any occurrence would in a considerate man breed an opinion thereof each of them being very congruous to the supposition of it no such appearances being otherwise so clearly and cleverly explicable as by assigning the Divine Hand for their principal cause But the connexion of them all in one Event when divers odd accidents do befal at a seasonable time according to exigency for the publick benefit the preservation of Princes the security of God's People the protection of Right the maintenance of Truth and Piety according to the wishes and prayers of good men with proper retribution and vengeance upon the wretched designers of mischief such a complication I say of these marks in one Event may throughly suffice to raise a firm persuasion to force a confident acknowledgment concerning God's Providence in any considerate and ingenuous person it readily will dispose such persons upon any such occasion to say This is the Lord 's doing and it is marvellous in our eyes Notwithstanding therefore any obscurity or intricacy that sometime may appear in the course of Providence notwithstanding any general exceptions that may by perverse incredulity be alleged against the conduct of things there are good marks observable whereby if we are not very blockish drowzy supine lazy or froward if we will consider wisely with industrious attention and care with minds pure from vain prejudices and corrupt affections we may discern and understand God's doing Which to do is the First Duty specified in our Text upon which having insisted so largely I shall hoping you will favour me with a little patience briefly touch the rest II. It is the Duty of us all upon such remarkable occurrences of Providence to fear God All men 't is said shall fear It is our Duty in such cases to be affected with all sorts of fear with a fear of awful dread with a fear of hearty reverence with a fear of sober caution yea sometimes with a fear of dejecting consternation When God doth appear clad with his robes of vengeance and zeal denouncing and discharging judgment when he representeth himself fearful in praises terrible in his doings toward the children of men working terrible things in righteousness it should strike into our hearts a dread of his glorious Majesty of his mighty Power of his severe Justice of his glorious and fearful Name it should instil into our minds a reverence of his excellent Wisdom his exceeding Goodness his perfect Holiness it should breed in our Souls a solicitous care of displeasing and provoking him it should cause us in our hearts to shake and tremble before him Then is that of the Psalmist to be put in practice Let all the earth fear the Lord let all the inhabitants of the World stand in awe of him Tremble thou Earth at the presence of the Lord at the presence of the God of Jacob. Such dispensations are in their nature declarative of those Divine Attributes which do require such affections they are set before our eyes to cast us into a very serious and solemn frame to abash and deter us from offending by observing the danger of incurring punishments like to those which we behold inflicted upon presumptuous transgressors upon those who do hainously violate Right or furiously impugn Truth or profanely despise Piety who earnestly prosecute wicked Enterprises who persecute the Friends of God with outrageous violence or treacherous subtilty Upon infliction of such punishments All the people shall hear and fear and do no more presumptuously saith God himself declaring the nature and drift of them They do plainly demonstrate that there is no presuming to escape being detected in our close Machinations by God's All-seeing Eye being defeated in our bold Attempts by God's All-mighty Hand being sorely chastised for our Iniquity by God's impartial Judgment Extreamly blind and stupid therefore must we be or monstrously sturdy and profane if such experiments of Divine Power and Justice do not awe us and fright us from sin When the Lion roareth who will not fear when the trumpet is blown in the City shall not the people be afraid Shall he at whom the mountains quake and the hills melt whose indignation the Nations are not able to abide at whose wrath the Earth doth shake and tremble at whose reproof the pillars of Heaven are astonished shall he visibly frown shall his wrath flame out shall he shake his rod of exemplary Vengeance over us and we stand void of sense or fear If so then surely a brutish dotage or a Gigantick stoutness doth possess us III. We are in such cases obliged to declare God's work that is openly to acknowledge and avow to applaud and celebrate the special Providence of God with his adorable perfections displayed in such Events to the glory of God's Name in expression of our reverence and gratitude toward him for the common edification of men for which uses they greatly serve to which purposes they are designed We should not view such providential occurrences like dumb beasts with a dull or careless silence as if we did not mind them or were not concerned in them we should not suppress or stifle the knowledge of them in our breasts as if they were barely matters of private consideration and use we should not let our observation and resentment of them be fruitless so as to yield no honour to God no benefit to man But we should propagate and convey them into others in so loud a tone in so lively a strain we should vent them as thereby to excite the notice to enflame the affections of all men within the reach of our voice provoking them to conspire with us in acknowledgment of God's Power and Wisdom in acclamation to his Justice and Goodness This is the due improvement of our Glory that peculiar excellency wherein chiefly except in our Reason we do surpass all creatures that without which our Reason it self is more then half unprofitable that whereby we put our best Member to its best use For this we have the devout Psalmist his pious Resolutions his exemplary Performances his zealous Wishes his earnest Exhortations to guide and move us I will speak of the glorious honour of thy Majesty and of thy wondrous works Men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts and I will declare thy greatness They shall speak of the glory of thy Kingdom and talk of thy power So did he signifie his Resolution I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart I
not give me leave to explain and exemplifie the special Providence of God is often cloudy is seldom so clear that without great heed and consideration we can perceive it But however to do so is plainly our duty and therefore possible For our Reason was not given us to be idle upon so important occasions or that we should be as brute Spectatours of what God doeth He surely in the Governance of his noblest creature here discovereth his Being and displayeth his Attributes we therefore carefully should observe it He thereby and no otherwise in a publick way doth continually speak and signifie to us his mind and fit it is that we his subjects should hear should attend to the least intimations of his pleasure To him thence glory should accrue the which who but we can render and that we may render it we must know the grounds of it In fine for the support of God's Kingdom for upholding the reverence due to his administration of Justice among us it is requisite that by apparent dispensation of recompences Duty should be encouraged and Disobedience checked very foolish therefore we must be if we regard not such dispensations So Reason dictateth and Holy Scripture more plainly declareth our obligation to consider and perceive God's doings To doe so is recommended to us as a singular point of wisedom whoso is wise and will observe these things they shall understand the loving-kindness of the Lord. Let him that glorieth glory in this that he understandeth and knoweth me that I am the Lord which exercise loving-kindness judgment and righteousness in the earth Who is wise and he shall understand these things prudent and he shall know them For the ways of the Lord are right c. We are vehemently provoked thereto Vnderstand ye brutish among the people and ye fools when will ye be wise They are reproved for neglect and defailance who do not regard the work of the Lord nor the operation of his hand The not discerning Providence is reproached as a piece of shameful folly A brutish man knoweth not neither doth a fool understand and of woful pravity O ye hypocrites ye can discern the face of the Skie but how is it that ye cannot discern this time To contemplate and study Providence is the practice of Good men I will meditate on all thy works saith the Psalmist chiefly respecting works of this kind and The works of the Lord are great sought out of all them that have pleasure therein It is a fit matter of Devotion warranted by the practice of good men to implore God's manifestation of his Justice and Power this way O Lord God to whom vengeance belongeth shew thy self lift up thy self thou Judge of the earth It is God's manner hereby to notifie himself The Lord is known by the judgment that he executeth He for this very purpose doth interpose his Hand that men may know that it is his Hand and that the Lord hath done it that as it is in Esay they may see and know and consider and understand together that the Hand of the Lord hath done this and the Holy One of Israel hath created it He manageth things so that men may be brought to know may be induced to acknowledge his authority and his equity in the management thereof that they may know that he whose Name is Jehovah is the most High over all the earth that they may say Verily there is a reward for the righteous verily there is a God that judgeth the earth In fine the knowledge of God's special Providence is frequently represented as a mean of nourishing our faith and hope in him as a ground of thankfulness and praise to him as an incentive of the best affections of holy joy and humble fear and hearty love toward him wherefore we ought to seek it and we may attain it There are consequently some distinctive marks or characters by which we may perceive God's Hand and such may these be which follow drawn from the special nature manner adjuncts and consequences of events upon which may be grounded Rules declarative of special Providence such as commonly will hold although sometimes they may admit exceptions and should be warily applied 1. The wonderfull Strangeness of Events compared with the ordinary course of things or the natural influence of causes when effects are performed by no visible means or by means disproportionate unsutable repugnant to the effect Sometimes great exploits are atchieved mighty forces are discomfited huge structures are demolished designs backed with all advantages of wit and strength are confounded none knows how by no considerable means that appear Nature rising up in arms against them panick fears seising on the Abetters of them dissensions and treacheries springing up among the Actors sudden deaths snatching away the principal instruments of them As when the stars in their courses fought against Sisera when the winds and skies became auxiliaries to Theodosius when the Lord thundered with a great thunder upon the Philistines and discomfited them and they were smitten before Israel when the Lord made the host of Syrians to hear a noise of chariots of horses of a great host whence they arose and fled when the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir utterly to slay and destroy them and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir every one helped to destroy another when the Angel of the Lord went out and smote in the camp of the Assyrians 185000 men and when they arose early in the morning behold they were all dead corpses when the mighty power of Antiochus was as it is said to be broken without hands and when as it is foretold a stone cut out of the mountain without hands should break in pieces the iron the brass the clay the silver and the gold Such Events do speak God to be their cause by his invisible efficacy supplying the defect of apparent means So likewise when by weak forces great feats are accomplished and impotency triumpheth over might when as the Prophet saith the captivesof the mighty are taken away and the prey of the terrible is delivered when One man as is promised doth chase a thousand and two put ten thousand to flight when a strippling furnished onely with faith and a pebble shall knock down a monstrous Giant armed with a helmet of brass and a coat of mail with a huge target sword and spear when successes arrive like those recorded in Scripture under the conduct of Joshua Gideon Jonathan Asa Jehosaphat wherein very small forces by uncouth means did subdue formidable powers This doth argue that God doth interpose with whom as it is said it is all one to save by many or by few and those that have no power whose power is perfected in weakness who breaketh the