alwayes to evade danger or win the Prize by Running Nor is the Battel to the Strong The Victory is not determined or the decision of the warre made alwayes on the side of the strongest and valiantest men Nor yet Bread to the Wise. Many wise men are not able to get their Bread or Livelihood in the World Nor Riches to men of Vnderstanding Many understanding men have not any success in their endeavours to gathâ—â— Râ—ches and get Estates Nor Favour to men of Skill Many times the most Skillful Artists and Artificers and the best Accomplished Persons find little Favour and Acceptation among men how deserving and ingenious soever they be 2. Illustrated by the Antithesis of a different and the true Cause of the Determination of Successes and Events signified in those words But Time and Chance happeneth to them all By which we are not to understand that the Determination of Events is reducâ—d and referred to meer Chance Fortune as the Epicurean Philosophers imagined but that the Counsel and Providence of God disposes and orders out all Successes or Frustrations of Second Causes casting in sometimes such unexpected Impediments and Obstructions as defeat the Labours and hopes of men of greatest Sufficiency which though they seem wholly casual and fortuitous Emergencies and are so indeed unto men themselves yet they are governed by the secret Counsel and effectual Providence of God The Summe is that no man how accomplish'd soever is Master of Events or absolute Determiner of the Issues of his own Actings and Endeavours but the soveraign Counsel and the Providence of God orders TIME and CHANCE to be an effectual Furtherance or Hindrance of the Designs of all men as seems good in His sight The Observation is Doct. That the Successes and Events of Vndertakings and Affairs are not determined infallibly by the greatest Sufficiency of Men or Second Causes but by the Counsel and Providence of God ordering and governing Time and Chance according to his own good Pleasure I have endeavoured to comprize and grasp the substance of Solomon's Intendment in this Doctâ—nal Conclusion and shall explicate and demonstrate the Truth of it as God shall help in the following Propositions Prop. 1. Second Causes may have a sufficiency in their Kind to produce these and those Effects an liability a congruous disposition or an aptness yea a kind of sufficiency in order to the putting forth this and that Act and the giving Existence to these and those Effects not indeed an absolute and universal Sufficiency which can be affirmed of none but Him that is All sufficient and Omnipotent but a limited sufficiency or a sufficiency in their Kind and order The Sun to shine the Fire to burn that which is combustible the Rational Creature to act or effect this or that in a way of counsel and with freedom of will the Swift to run the strong and valiant and well-instructed Souldier to fight well the wise man to get his bread to gather riches to gain acceptance among those with whom he hath to do This is no more than to say that created Agents and Second Causes may have the active power and virtue of causes all that is requisite on their parts in ordeâ—â— to the production of their peculiar and appropriate Effects all that sufficiency that dependent Beings and second Causes are capable of And indeed it belongs to the Infinite Wisdom and Goodness of God to furnish his Creatures with sufficient Ability for the opperations and effects He hath made them for and so He did at first when He made every thing good in its Kind and whatever Defect there is now in this respect it is the fruit punishment of Sin Though God is able to give Being to things in an immediate way yet it is his pleasure in the course of his Providence to use Means and to produce many things by the mediation and Agency of second Causes and so gives causal virtue and ability to these and those things in order to the producing of such and such Effects It is a good observation that the Lord is pleased not through any defect of power in Himself but out of the abundance of his goodness to communicâ—te causal power and virtue to his Creatures to honour them with that Dignity that they may be his Instruments by which He will produce these and those Effects whereby He takes them as it were into partnership fellowship with Himself in the way of his providential Efficiency that they may be Vnder-workers to yea Co-workers with Himself Hence He gives them an aptitude and sufficiency in their kind in order to their respective operations and effects though some have a greater aptitude sufficiency than others But without some degree of such sufficiâ—â—cy nothing can deserve the name of a Cause the very essence whereof consists in its power virtue ability to produce an Effect A cause cannot be a cause without an active power or sufficiency to give being to this or that Effect Prop. 2. The Successes and Events of Affairs and Vndertakings do ordinarily depend in some respects upon the Sufficiency of Second Causes I do not say in the Observation nor is it the meaning of Solomon that Successes and Events of Affairs and Undertakings do not depend at all in an ordinary course on the sufficiency of Second Causes For this were to deny and destroy their causality and to make nothing of their efficiency Second causes have their peculiar Influence into their Effects and contribute something to their Existence and to assert the contrary were to say that Causes are no Causes and to speak a flat Contradâ—ction This would be to suppose that the Lord hath set up an Order and course in Nature in vain and given to Second Causes a sufficiency in their Kind for Action to no purpose and to deny the ordinary Providence of God which is that whereby the Lord observes the Order which He hath set and that course of Nature which is originally of his own Appointment whereby one thing depends upon and receives Being from another Though the Lord is pleased sometimes upon great and important Occasions to leave the ordinary Road of Providence and act beyond and above the usual stated course of Things and not to concurre with and shine upon the endeavours of created Agents so as to crown them with that success which according to an ordinary course of Providence might be rationally expected yet it is not to be imagined that He should ordinarily dispence with the course and methods of his ordinary Providence For why then should it be called ordinary God who is the Lord of Hosts the great Leader Commander Ruler of Nature not only permits but also effectually commands and causes his whole Militia ordinarily to move and act according to their Natures and natural Properties respectively without Countermanding them or turning them out of their way For as I remember One argues He will not shew such a dislike to
brought his Design near to an Issue then the King cannot sleep but calls for the Book of the Records of the Chronicles and they read to Hâ—m of the good Service of Mordecai in discovering the Treason that was plotted against his Person and one thing falls in after another to defeat Haman's cruel design and ruine the whole fabrick of his strong built and almost perfected Contrivance In this sence Time and Chance happens to men of greatest Sufficiency which they cannot either foresee Eccl 9. 12. or prevent or help themselves against them when they come upon them and hereby their Counsels and Undertakings are defeated and ruined sometimes Prop. 5. Time and Chance which happens to men in the way of their Vndertakings is effectually ordered governed by the Lord. God is the Lord of Time and Orderer and Governour of all Contingences Time and Chance that further or hinder the Designs of men are under the Rule and Management of the Lord. His Counsel sets the Times appoints the Chances His Providence dispenses the Times and frames the Chances that befall men The Lord hath in his own power the Dispensation of Times Eph. 1. 10. The Times and Seasons He hath put in his own power Act. 1. 7. He hath such a Dominion over the Times that He changeth Times and Seasons according to his own pleasure Dan. 2. 21. My Times saith David Ps. 31. 15. are in thy Hands He means the state and condition of his Times his Prosperities and Adversities his Successes and Disappointments and universally whatever should befall him in the Times that should pass over Him Moreover all the Chances that happen to men as the Scripture but now mentioned shews are in the Hand of God My Times i.e. the Chances of my Times No Contingency or Emergency or Accident so casual but it is ordered governed by the Lord. The Arrow that was shot at a venture and smote Ahab throw the joints of his Hâ—rness was directed at him by the Hand of God So in that case of Man-slaughter and killing a man casually as if a man be hewing Wood and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the Axe to cut down a Tree and the head slippeth from the helve and lighteth upon his Neighbour that he die Deut. 19 5. God is said in that case to deliver that man that is slain into his hand Exod. 21. 13. God ordereth that sad event All Casualties in the World are guâ—ded by the steady Hand 〈◊〉 the great God Thou saith David Ps. 16. 5. maintainest â—y Lot The Lord makes and disposes the Lot or Chance of every man whatever it is He hath appointed all Times and Chances in his Eternal Counsel and in Time executes accordingly in the course of his Providence Prop. 6. The great God hath the absolute and infallible Determination of the Successes and Events of all the Operations Vndertakings of created Agents Second Causes in his own Power His Counsel and soveraign Will appoints what they shall be and his Providence which is not determined by any Second Cause but is the Determiner of them all Executes accordingly And it must needs be so if you consider these two Particulars 1. God is the Absolute First Cause and Supream Lord of all Of Him and to Him and through Him are all Things Rom. 11. 36. He that understands any thing of God indeed knows this to be a Truth Here we might be large as they that are acquainted with the Doctrine of Creation and Providence in Conservation and Gubernation of all Things will readily apprehend for here we might shew you 1. That God is the absolute first Cause of all the causal power and virtue that is in Creatures He gives them power to act furnisheth them with a Sufficiency for their Operations He gives Swiftness to the Runner Skill and Strength and Courage to the Souldier 2. That He supports and continues the active power of the creature He continues Swiftness Wisdom Strength Courage as He pleaseth If He withdraw all is gone The Swift is lame or slow-footed the Strong is weak timorous the Wise is foolish and besotted the man of Skill is a meer Bungler at any thing 3. That He doth by a previous Influx excite and stirre up and actuate the active power of the Creature and set all the wheels agoing For the most operative active created Virtue is not a pure Act but hath some Potentiality mixed with it and therefore cannot put forth it self into Action unless it be set agoing by the first Cause And the creature cannot be the absolute first Cause of any physical action In Him we live and move Act. 17 28. Again 4. That He determines and applyes Second Causes to the Objects of their Actions When they stand as it were in Bivio as it is said of Nebuchadnezzar when he was marching with his Army He stood at the parting of the way at the head of the two wayes to use Divination as doubting which way he had bâ—st to march whether to Ierusalem or some other way Ezek. 21. 21 22. Then the Lord easts the Scale and the Lot determines them this way and not another He doth not only stir up Second Causes to act at large and set them agoing and leave it to their own Inclination whither they shall go what they shall do but He leads them forth and determines them to this or that Object 5. That He cooperates and workes jointly with Second Causes in producing their Effects as He predetermins Second Causes so He concurres with them in their Operations And this Pradetermination and Concurse is so necessary that there can be no real Effect produced by the Creature without it And it is a Truth also that when God Improves Second Causes for the production of any Effect He so concurres with them that He doth withall most immediately intimously and without Dependence upon these Causes by which He acts produce the Entity or Esse of the Effect If this be considered it will appear that created Agents are as it were God's Instruments that act as they are acted by Him and cannot move of themselves The busy bustling proud Assyrian was so Is 10. 15. 6. That all the Ataxy Disorder Irregularity moral Evil that is found in the Actions of Rational Agents is by His Permission If it were not the Pleasure of God to permit it no Sin should be in the World nor in the Actions of Men. Though there is no Legal Permission or allowance of it for the Law of God forbids it yet there is a Providential Permission of it God could have kept it out of his World 7. That He limits and sets Bounds to the Actions of Second Causes what they shall do and how farre they shall proceed in this or that way He set bounds to Satan when he had Commission to afflict Iob. He limits and restrains the Eruptions of the Wrath Rage of the Churches Adversaries Ps. 76. 10. He sets bounds to the sinfull
Actions of Men He regulates and governs all the Actions of Second Causes as to time place degrees and all manner of Circumstances He is not the Author but He is the Ordâ—rer of Sin it self 8. That He serves Himself and his own Ends of all Second Causes He makes them all in all their Operations subservient to his own Designs and that not only natural but rational Agents that act by Counsel And not only such of them as are his professed willing Servants Many serve God's ends beside their Intentions and against their wills I will do this and that saith God by the Assyrian howbeit he meaneth not so Is. 10. 6 7. Wicked men and Devils do God's will against their own will and beside their Intentions Ye thougt Evil against me saith Ioseph to his Brethren but God meant it for good c. Gen. 50. 20. God elicites what good He pleases out of the actions of his Creatures Whatever this or that Agent proposeth to himself yet God alwayes attaineth His Ends. He serves Himself of the very Sins of his Creatures and brings good out of them He makes that which is not Bonum honestum to be Bonum conducibile and though Sin is not good yet as God orders the matter it is good in order to many holy Ends that Sin should be in the World as Austin observes 9. That He useth means in themselves unfit and improves Agents of themselves insufficient to bring about his own Purposes produce marveilous Effects Yea and it is as easy with Him to do any thing by weak and insufficient as by the ablest most accomplished Instruments There is no restraint to the Lord to Save by many or by few 1 Sam. 14. 6. it is nothing with Him to help whether with many or with them that have no power 2 Chron. 14. 11. Despicable Instruments sometimes do great Things in His Hand 10. That He renders the aptest means ineffâ—ctual and the Vndertakings of the most sufficient Agents unsuccessful when He pleases He hath a Negative Voice upon all the Counsels and Endeavours and Active Power of the Creature He can stop the Sun in its course and cause it to withdraw its shining He can give check to the Fire that it shall not burn to the hungry Lions that they shall not devour and He can order it so that the men of might shall sleep their sleep and not find their Hands He can break the Ranks of the most orderly Souldiers take away courage from the stoutest hearts send a pannick Fear into a mighty Host and defeat the Counsels of the wisest Leaders and Conducters He can blow upon and blast the likeliest Undertakings of the ablest Men. In a word the Lord being the Absolute First Cause and supream Governour of all his Creatures and all their Actions though He hath set an Order among his Creatures this shall be the cause of that effect c. yet He himself is not tied to that Order but Interrupts the course of it when He pleases The Lord reserves a Liberty to Himself to interpose and to Umpire matters of Success and Event contrary to the Law and common Rule of Second Causes And though He ordinarily concurreth with Second Causes according to the Law given and Order set yet sometimes there is in his Providence a Variation and Digression Though He hath given Creatures power to act and Man to act as a Cause by Counsel and hath furnished him with active Abilities yet He hath not made any Creature Master of Events but reserves the Disposal of Issues and Events to Himself Herein the absolute Soveraignty and Dominion of God appears 2. Otherwise the Lord might possibly suffer real Disappointment and be defeated of his Ends in some Instances He might be cross'd in his Designs if any of his Creatures could doe what they will without absolute Dependence upon Him He could not be sure of his Ends what He designs in the World if He had not command of all Events that may further or hinder them If there were any active power in Creatures that He cannot controll or any one event that is out of his Reach and absolutely in the Creature 's power exempted from his providential Command it would be possible thaâ— He might be defeated of his Ends and so far unhappy as to his voluntary Happiness which results from his having his 〈…〉 in the World and compassing all his Ends in the works of Creation and Providence God hath made all Things â—â—eth all Things and manageth all Things according to the Counsel of his Will in away of subserviency to Himself and his own Occasions which He could not do universally and miâ—â—strâ—bly if He had not the absolute and infallible Determination of all Events in his own Hand But His Counsel shall stand and He will do all his Pleasure Is. 46. 10. Thus much for the Explication and Confirmation of the Doctrine USE I. Of Instruction in these Particulars 1. We see what a poor dependent nothing-Creature Proud Man is Depending absolutely upon God for his Being Actions and the Success of them Men of greatest Sufficiency cannot get their own Bread or bring any thing to effect in their own strength Let their Abilities be what they will Swiftness for the Race Strength for the Battel Wisdom for getting their Bread c. yet they shall stand them in no stead without the concurrence and Blessing of God Man saith he will do this and that but he must ask God leave first He saith To day or to morrow I will go to such a place and buy and sell get gain whereas he knows not what shall be but it shall certainly be as the Lord will The way of man is not in himself it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps nor perform any thing that he purposeth without divine Concurrence or Permission He hath not the Success of any of his actions in his own power nor doth he know that any thing he doth shall prosper One would wonder poor dependent man should be so proud Any little thing lifts him up When the Souldier on such occasions as these is in his Bravery in his military Garb drest up for the purpose with his Buffe Coat his Scarfe his rich Belt his Arms a good Horse under him O what a goodly Creature is he in his own Eyes and what wonders can he do in his own conceit and yet he hath as absolute need of God's Assistance if he go forth to Battel as any naked unarmed man He cannot move a step or fetch his next breath or bring his hand to his mouth or leap over a straw or do any thing without help from God in whose hand his breath is and whose are all his wayes Dan. 5. 23. It 's strange to see how the hearts of men are lifted up with nothing O cease ye from Man for wherein is he to be accounted of 2. We see that there is and there is not Chance in
him with the Beasts of the Field and teach you better Manners by some severe Correction Do not Sacrifice to your own Nets and burn Incense to your Drags as if by them your portion were fat and meat plenteous Hab. 1. 16. but ascribe all to God There is that deep Wickedness in the Hearts of Men that if they get any thing by any Fraud and crafty fetches and overreaching of their Brethren in a sinful way they will be too readie to attribute that to the Providence and Blessing of God and say it was God's Providence that cast it in upon them when they have been craftily and sinfully designing it and bringing it about but when they have gotten any thing honestly by their Wisdom and Prudence and Industrie they are too ready to forget Providence and ascribe all to themselves See the Evil of this and remember that no People in the World have greater cause of Thankfulness than we have to God who hath governed Time and Chance on our behalf marvellously O Bless Him for good Success not only when you cannot but acknowledge your own Insufficiency but also wheâ—â—ou have apprehensions of the greatest Sufficiency of Second Causes And Blessed for ever be the Lord who hath Pleasure in the Prosperity of his Servants Psal. 35. 27. Secondly Acknowledge God also in all your Frustrations and Disappointments so as to resent his Disposals and Dispensations towards you in a gracious manner We have met with manie Disappointments in the lâ—te Warre and in other respects We should see God in all When He blasts our Corn defeats our Souldiers frowns upon our Merchants and we are disappointed now acknowledge the Hand of God Ordering Time and Chance according to his Good Pleasure Justifie God in all and bear such Frustrations patientlie When you have done your Dutie be quiet though the Event doth not answer your Endeavours and Hopes Take heed of quarrelling at GOD's Disappointments Do you know VVhom you have to do with I was dumb I opened not my mouth because Thou didst it Psal. â—9 9. If we look at faultie Instruments or at meer Chance onely we shall be apt to murmur It is the observation of One That the Reason why men are more apt to fly out into Cursings and Blasphemies for their bad Luck as they call it in those Vnlawful Games of Cards and Dice than in other Exercises that are governed by Art and Skill ariseth partly from the very nature of those Games because when they have tried their Lot or Chance over and over and their Expectation is deceived they think that that Power that governs the Lot or Chance is Adverse to them They cannot blame their own Art or Skill when no Art can infallibly determine the Event but curse their bad Fortune And if we look at Disappointments as our bad Fortune and Chance onely looking no further we shall be apt to fret and quarrel but if we do indeed see God ordering our Lot for us it may and ought to silence us When Magistrates have done their Duty according to the Law of God and of the Country and endeavoured faithfully to give check stop to the Inundation of Profaneness and Heresy and yet the bad Genius of the Times and degenerous Humour of the People and this or that Emergency happens that frustrates the Success of their Counsels and Endeavours truly they may sit down and mourn indeed but yet humbly submit to the All disposing Providence of God When Ministers have laboured faithfully and yet Israel is not gathered and their Labours seem to be in vain not successful in converting Sinners they may weep in secret indeed but yet patiently bear the Unsuccessfulnes of their Ministry from the Hand of God When Souldiers have shewed themselves valiant and faithful and done what they can and yet are worsted They must acknowledge God's Hand in it and that the Battel is the Lord's 1 Sam. 17. 47. who governeth the Warre and determins the Victory on what side He pleaseth All men have Briars and Thorns springing up in the way of their Callings as well as Husbandmen and meet with Difficulties and Crosses there in Get the Spirit David had 2 Sam. 15. 25 26. and so acknowledge God in every thing as to submit humbly to his Disposals even when they are Adverse and cross to your Desies and â—xpectations Thirdly Be always Prepared for Disappointments Do not promise your selves Success from the Sufficiency of Second Causes God may determine otherwise We should be forewarned and forearmed that we may not Xenìzesthai 1 Pet. 4. 12. strange at it when it comes to pass or be dejected and discouraged Events are not in the Creatures power The Lord sometimes disappoints men of greatest Sufficiency over-rules and controlls their Counsels and Endeavours and blasts them strangely Time and Chance happens to them If Adam had stood though he would not have had the Determination of Events Successes in his own hand yet God would have determined them for him according to his hearts-desire and he should never have been disappointed But since the Fall as no Man hath power to determine Events which is God's Prerogative so it is just with God that every man should meet with Crosses and Disappointments and this is the Fruit of the Curse under which all natural menly and as for the People of God though they are delivered from the Curse of the Law in the Formality of it so that nothing befalls them as a Curse how cross soever it be yet they are not yet absolutely delivered from the Matter of the Curse as appears by the Afflictions they meet with and Death it self And indeed it makes sometimes for the glory of God to disappoint Men of greatest Abilities When men do not see and own God but attribute Success to the Sufficiency of Instruments It 's time for God to maintain his own Right as Dr. Preston speaks and shew that He gives or denies Success according to His own good Pleasure God is much seen in Controlling the ablest Agents blasting their Enterprizes yea more many times than in backing them blessing their Endeavours in an ordinary Course of Providence Herein the Wisdom of God is much seen It is best sometimetimes it should be so with respect to God's Int'rest and Glory His Power also appears in giving Check to the Ablest Instruments and turning all their Designs another way than they Intended His Mercy also to his People is seen herein for it is best for them in some Cases to be defeated and disappointed His Iustice also appears herein in his correcting and punishing the Self-confident sinful Creature with unexpected Disappointments So that it is our Wisdom tolook for Changes and Chances some Occurrents and Emergencies that may blast our Undertakings that Faith and Prayer may be kept a going and lest if such Frustrations befall us unexpectedly we either fly out against God or faint and sink in Discouragements At the first going out of our Forces in the