fear whatever we have deserved by our Sins whatever sorrows may either threaten or have overtaken us nevertheless to remember the Compassion of the Lord and the wonders he has wrought and as to talk of his doings so moreover to make use of them for inviting both our selves and others to a steady and unwearied dependance upon him The consideration hereof may serve to quicken our Devotions and make us the more importunate suitors to Almighty God for relief against our Troubles and may also engage us to offer up a hearty Sacrifice of Praise to him for all his Goodness but it should by no means ever suffer us to despair of a seasonable redress from him though in the most calamitous Condition It will be utterly impossible to question whether God can rescue out of the greatest Dangers or Miseries when we observe how miraculously and how frequently he has done it in all times past And it will be highly unreasonable likewise and intolerably disingenuous to distrust his favourable Inclinations after such abundant experience of his readiness to exercise his Bounty upon all occasions And by consequence we cannot but find our selves indispensibly obliged to make this use of his wonted Compassion that we be encouraged constantly to cast our Care upon him and under our greatest streights to look up to him for help as well knowing that when all outward Comforts cease he can easily supply the want of them and that he will not fail to do it for them that seriously and dutifully fly to him for shelter Thus have I endeavoured to prove That God Almighty never ceases to exercise a gracious Providence over the whole World which as it was at first produced is also still preserved and governed by his Wisdom and Power that he feeds the Beasts and Fowls adorns the Flowers of the Field and takes care of Man to that degree that our very Hairs are numbred by him and no Evil can possibly befall any of us without his notice or lie heavier than he sees fit or last longer than he allows it that besides the general Providence which he exercises over the Sons of Men and the Plenty of Blessings he bestows indifferently upon both Good and Bad he has farther condescended to promise a peculiar Protection to the Righteous that he will watch over them in an especial manner to secure them against the manifold Evils which might otherwise be in danger of overwhelming them and again lastly That the Experience of all Ages shews how willing and ready he has been to fulfill these his Promises to the terrour and confusion of his Enemies and the safety and support of all that have put their Trust in him And now what greater assurance would any one desire of a good Providence continually presiding over us Or what can any considering person possibly inferr from hence but that it must be our own fault if we groan under any unnecessary Calamity or Disaster or if we want any suitable Good since we are hence sufficiently informed that our God will never be backward to relieve us in either of these cases unless we senselsly provoke him to it We have all the Encouragement that can be desired to rely upon him upon the account of his readiness to assist us when we do so And if we but take care to approve our selves to him and thereby entitle our selves to his Promises there is no room left to imagine that he will be wanting to us in any respect CHAP. IV. The Usefulness of Casting all our Care upon God THE Fourth thing I undertook was To instance in some of the great Advantages that would accrue to us from a faithful and constant Dependance upon God That the Almighty has required this Duty at our Hands and from time to time and in such a manner as shews him nearly concerned for it were Argument enough one would think to oblige all who desire either to please him here or to be happy with him hereafter to an uninterrupted Reliance upon him And were the Duty thus enjoyned by him never so difficult in it self never so contrary to the natural Inclinations of Flesh and Blood and were it perpetually attended with the most formidable Dangers or heaviest Sufferings yet being absolutely necessary no good Christian but would conclude himself nearly concerned to encounter all these inconveniencies rather than expose himself to the just indignation of Almighty God But if the case be quite of another nature and this necessary Duty have none of those frightful Difficulties attending it but be agreeable to the dictates of Reason and for our Benefit in this life as well as for the glory of God and a means of our future Happiness there remains no pretence of an excuse for the neglect of it And that this is the true state of the matter I hope I have already in a good measure made apparent and shall now proceed to prove it more fully by considering the Usefulness of this Vertue for these three following purposes 1. For obtaining a greater Interest in the Divine Protection 2. For quieting our Minds in all Conditions 3. For Entitling to a better state when we shall be translated hence SECT I. I. THIS Duty is of singular use for obtaining a greater Interestion the Divine Protection For as to distrust God and not dare to rely upon him in times of Danger and Necessity is the way to offend him and by this means to have our likeliest Undertaking miscarry for lack his Blessing so on the contrary there is no furer Expedient for compassing our just and lawful Ends and promoting our own Welfare than to seek an Interest in him by an undaunted Dependance upon his Providence what our Saviour saith in another case being applicable also to this That * S. Matt. 25.29 to him who hath shall be given and he shall have abundance but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath For if common Ingenuity teaches Men that it is a great shame to prove false to the Trust reposed in them much more will Almighty God esteem it beneath his Divine Attributes to slight any of his Servants that cast their Care upon him in obedience to his own Command * De cujus ope pietate qui in eum confidimus possumus esse securi Epist 57. We that trust in him saith S. Cyprian may be secure of his help And the holy Psalmist speaks to the same purpose prescribing this as a never-failing qualification for the Divine Protection †Psal 55.22 Cast thy burden ‖ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 thy Care or Solicitude according to the Septuagint upon the Lord * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he will sustain thee he will †Vid. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 King 17.4 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 v. 9. c. 18.4 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 v. 13. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 maintain thee will provide for and nourish thee He affirms
if God's promises of Protection are made particularly and only to the Righteous it must needs be that so far as any one falls short of this Character so much the less Interest he will have in those Promises His Iniquities if they do not utterly prevent the Blessings he desires as he has too great reason to fear they may will yet be sure to deprive him of that undaunted trust in God's Goodness which he would otherwise have found to be an admirable Consolation in all Conditions So that hereby he becomes at best but like a desolate Man in the Ocean labouring for his life or that is left unfortunately in a desart Island where he has a possibility to escape but has no assurance of it to depend upon A Vessel may come that way and ease him of his fears and dangers when about to be swallowed up of the merciless Waves or devoured by some ravenous Beast of prey and may bring him safe to his own Home but this is more than he can any way promise himself And if no one in his Wits would knowingly quit his Ship to run either of these hazards much less should any dare to allow themselves in what may expose them to the just Wrath of Almighty God and hence may exclude them from that Interest in his Favour which is the best Support under all Calamities and the want whereof if it do not prevail with him to deny them whatsoever good Things they ask of him yet leaves them at very great uncertainty whether they shall partake of them or not and again whether it shall be for their benefit if they be vouchsafed them or only in order to their greater Condemnation SECT IV. IV. ALL therefore that I take to be implied in this Duty is a considerate and a rational Reliance upon God through Christ for the necessary Blessings of this as well as the inestimable Rewards of the other Life It is a Resting upon him as our great Benefactor Patron and Protector with a firm persuasion that whilst we faithfully perform our part by confining our Desires and Expectations to necessary Things and taking the proper Measures for obtaining them and capacitating our selves for them he will not refuse to grant us a suitable supply of them but will prosper our Endeavours and will also hear our Prayers and help us out where our Endeavours fail And so it consists of these two Branches 1. A steady dependance upon God to take care of us in all our Streights and consequent hereupon 2. A quiet composure of Mind in all our greatest Exigencies upon consideration of the Care that he takes of us 1. A steady Dependance upon God to take care of us in all our Streights as knowing that if we seek to him aright he will be ready to succour and provide for us though never so unable to help our selves There is no case so forlorn but he regardes it and has by him a Remedy in store for it which if duely apply'd will effectually work a cure If he but command Deliverance for his Servants all the Power of Men or Devils cannot prevent it and this he never refuses to do but when persons shew themselves unfit for his Kindness or else desire what would be no real Kindness to themselves In all other Cases he is abundantly ready to dispense his Favours to Mankind not only beyond their deserts but very often beyond their utmost hopes And hence he requires us to fix our Eyes upon him in the needful time of trouble and if we either foresee any Evil at a distance which according to the working of natural Causes must be unavoidable or groan at present under any grievous Affliction which we know not how else to get remov'd in neither of these Instances to distrust his paternal Affection to us but encourage our selves in a belief that upon condition we sue to him and rest upon him as we ought he will be mindful of us and will be sure 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 * 1 S. Pet. 5.6 as S. Peter speaks in due time when he observes a proper season for it to administer to our Necessities And indeed considering the Transitoriness of our present State and the uncertainty of every thing we can possess or hope for in it and that it is not in our power to make our Condition as we would have it or to preserve it if it were such but that for ought we know to the contrary some unlucky chance may the very next moment either take away all our Enjoyments from us or us from them and therefore we can have no security of any thing but from the good Providence of God no prospect of Happiness whether here or hereafter but only from his boundless Compassion considering these things I say it is easie to inferr how nearly our Interest depends upon his gracious Inclinations towards us his perpetual Care being our best our only Defence against those numerous Evils to which were it not for this each one would lie continually expos'd and consequently what egregious folly it is not to rely intirely upon him for those Benefits that are to be expected only from him I confess were Mankind capable of making any tolerable provision for themselves without the Divine Assistance they would have so much the less Encouragement to cast themselves upon God and would therefore act with less inconsistence in the neglect of him But nothing sure can be more highly resonable than for poor Creatures who are nothing without God and neither have nor can hope for any thing but from his Bounty readily to deliver up all their concerns into his Hands with all the thankfullest acknowledgments that may be of his unspeakable Loving-kindness in condescending to become their Guardian to manage their Affairs for them so much more wisely and to so much better advantage than themselves could This therefore is the former Branch of this important Duty a steady Dependance upon God to take care of us in all our Streights 2. A quiet composure of Mind in all our greatest Exigencies upon consideration of the Care he takes of us And could we but so cast our Care upon God as not to have it still remaining upon our selves any farther than is requisite in order to the gracious Designs of his Providence towards us this would necessarily dispose us not to take thought for the morrow to forbear fretting and tormenting our selves with a fearful expectation of what possibly may happen hereafter and yet withal possibly may not and would enable as on the contrary heartily to rejoice that we are not left destitute but have an infinitely good God to order all our Affairs for us There is no better sign of a perfect Dependance upon God than a Mind prepared for all Events and that fears not to be miserable whilst in his Hands though in the midst of outward Dangers and Distractions nor any thing that tends more naturally to our present satisfaction This is the most
they may be highly beneficial to us possibly here but most certainly hereafter if our selves prevent it not and again that how uneasie soever any of them may be we may certainly expect a freedom from them in due time It teaches to observe whence all our Grievances proceed and on what errand they come and when they seem most terrible it very much allays their Severity by fixing our Thoughts and Hopes upon Almighty God as our best Security even in the worst Condition It disposes us when any troubles befall us when we either miss of any thing we earnestly desire or are seized with any heavy calamity to look up to God and think what a privilege it is to be under the covert of his Wings and to rest fully satisfy'd that * Conjugium petimus partumque uxoris at illi Notum qui pueri qualisque futura sit uxor whatever he doth is best for us and it is therefore our Interest as well as our Duty to acquiesce in it And would persons but be persuaded seriously to apply themselves to the practice of it their own Experience would above all other Arguments convince them of this great Truth For I am very sure they would hence find more hearty Joy and Satisfaction even in the midst of all their Troubles than they would be willing to exchange for all things in this World besides They would quickly perceive it to be †Nam pro jucundis aptissima quaeque Dabunt Dii Charior est illis homo quà m sibi Juv. Sat. 10. much easier and safer and happier and in all respects abundantly better to be in God's Hands than in their own Especially considering that the exercise of this Duty is not only useful for quieting our Minds in all conditions by lessening our apprehensions of Danger and taking off the edge of Afflictions but likewise by rendring us 3. Less solicitous for the future It is divers persons great unhappiness to be continually vexing and tormenting themselves by putting a wrong construction upon all the Dispensations of God's Providence towards them Contrary to the Rules of common Prudence which would instruct them to recollect all the alleviating Circumstances of any trouble whereby to render it the lighter these are sure to allow it all the Aggravations they can think of and hereby add a very considerable weight to its burden They make it their business to fix their Thoughts upon the less pleasing Prospect of any Event as if they must never hope to be happy because all things don't go at present according to their Minds When they look at the Inconveniencies whereto they lie exposed they take care to magnifie them to the utmost and perhaps much beyond what they will well bear but when at the Comforts that may arise from them or the other Advantages they enjoy to counterpoise them or whatever might tend to lighten them here they invert the Tube that so they may keep off all Consolation from themselves Or if they have nothing to complain of at present they can yet perplex themselves with fears of being miserable they know not when nor how Or if things look too clear for this they still apprehend that howsoever themselves escape their Posterity may be brought to a low condition and this thought likewise creates them no small disturbance Now all the uneasiness of this kind that any meet with except where it depends upon a prevailing Melancholy in the Body can proceed from nothing else but a sinful distrust of God's Goodness And consequently the removal hereof will leave no more room for these surmises For how is it possible for that Man to dread being left in a forlorn condition who firmly believes and lays to heart the manifold Promises that God has made and Blessings he has vouchsafed to them that have cast their Care upon him What can he lack as Eusebius * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Praepar Evang. l. 1. c. 1. well argues who can reckon upon the great King and Governour of all things as his Parent and Protector Nay what can he fear either for himself or his who calls to mind what a loving merciful and infinitely compassionate God has obliged himself to provide for him Had we been left to our own management there would have been just cause to suspect least every attempt we engaged in might miscarry either through our own folly or weakness or the opposition of other Men or a thousand accidents that might attend it But it is quite otherwise with all that know themselves under God's Protection for he is no less able to perform what he has undertaken for them than he was gracious in undertaking it And they need therefore be no farther concerned for their own Wants or Infirmities or insufficiency in whatever respect than to take occasion from hence to fly the more readily to Him for help and depend the more stedfastly upon him And indeed to do otherwise is but to lay an unnecessary * Quid necesse est mala accessere satis citò patienda cùm venerint praesumere ac praesens rempus futuri metu perdere Est sine dubio stultum quia quandoque sis futurus miser esse jam miserum Senec. Epist 24. burden upon themselves to anticipate their Sorrows and in a word to make themselves unhappy at present for fear they should be so hereafter Like him that would wilfully starve himself to day least he should want Victuals to morrow Why then art thou cast down O my soul why art thou so disquieted within me Have I not still the same God to trust in who hath hitherto been extreamly bountiful to me and have I not good reason to rely upon him still as much as ever is he not still both as able and as willing to take care of me as heretofore †〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Antonin Imp. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 l. 7. n. 6. Away then with all unworthy thoughts of his Providence away with all needless solicitude for the future as if he did not mind my Wants What irreverence what undutifulness what ingratitude must I be guilty of before I can suffer my self to distrust him And what unnecessary endless Vexations do I also hereby bring upon my self which might be effectually prevented if I had but consideration enough to weigh well with my self what an incomparable happiness it is to have an interest in the Divine Protection and how easie I might be under it were it not for my own Imprudence And as to my Family are not they entituled to God's Protection no less than my self and hath he not hitherto taken care of them how then can I imagine that he will not continue to do it He provides now for both my self and them and why not as well for them when I am gone It may be I can leave them a comfortable Subsistence at my death But if I cannot why should I be troubled so I can but leave them God's Blessing
end to all our Troubles At other times they argued from the commonness of Afflictions that themselves were not the only Sufferers * Nae illa quidem consolatio sirmissima est quanquam usitata est saepe prodest Non tibi hoc soli Tusc Quaest l. 3. what they endured being no more than the usual fate of Mankind And sometimes again to induce their Followers to submit the more chearfully to Afflictions they have attempted to satisfie them with this Distinction †Doceat paratiorem me ad contemnendam pecuniam fore si illam in rebus praepositis quà m si in bonis duxero fortioremque in patiendo dolore si eum asperum difficilem perpessu contra naturam quam si malum esse dixero De finibus bon mal l. 4. Asperum difficile odiosum contra naturam dicunt nec tamen malum Tusc Quaest l. 2. c. 7. Nihil agis dolor quamvis sis molestus nunquam te esse confitebor malum ibid. c. 25. That though they could not but acknowledge their Sufferings to be sharp troublesome hateful against Nature and difficult to be born yet they would not allow them to be Evils as if the bare change of an Epithite had been a Cure for the worst of them for the acutest Pain or heaviest Sorrow Which Notion Dionysius Heracleotes acknowledged ‖ De fiâ— bon mâ—l l. 5. c. 31. Tusc Quaest l. 2. c. 24. Diog. Lâ—ert l. 7. in vitâ D. Herael to be sufficiently confuted by a violent pain in his Eyes and a severe fit of the Stone But our Religion prescribes a far better Remedy for all these Distempers than is any where else to be met with namely that in all our Exigences we look up to Almighty God and cast our Care upon him who not only is best able to relieve us under whatsoever Calamities but hath moreover directed us to seek to him for what things we stand in need of with a Promise that he will be wanting to none that duly apply themselves to him requiring us neither to suffer our selves to be overwhelmed with any sort of Grief upon whatever account nor to expect Relief against it from any other Hand than his who alone is the proper Refuge for the Distressed To Him we are to present our Case and make known our Sorrows and then to rely upon Him as the surest Help in all our Needs and the best Support under all our Troubles This he hath been graciously pleased to appoint as the readiest and in truth the only certain way to obtain either Comfort under or Defence against or Deliverance from Wants Diseases Losses Fears Dangers or whatsoever Afflictions This Duty therefore I have undertaken to recommend to each one 's serious and constant Practice And that I may do it the more effectually I shall proceed to discourse of it in this following Method 1. To consider the Nature and Importance of the Duty 2. To observe our indispensible Obligation in the performance of it 3. To inforce the Practice of it from the Assurance we have of God's continual Care over us 4. To instance in some of the great Advantages which would accrue to us from a faithful and constant Dependance upon God 5. And lastly To evince the Insufficiency of all other Means for either securing us from or supporting us under Afflictions CHAP. I. The Duty of Casting our Care upon God I Begin with the first of these Heads To consider the Nature of this Duty of putting our Trust in God and casting our Care upon him Now Trust or Affiance in or Dependance upon another * Principaliter significare videtur quòd aliquis spem concipiat ex hoc quod credit verbis alicujus auxilium promittentis Fiducia etiam potest dici quâ aliquis spem alicujus rei concipit ex aliquo considerato 2. Secundae Quae. 129.6 Tho. Aquinas rightly declares to signifie principally that hope of benefit in any respect which a Man conceives from the Promises of such an one but withall that it may be grounded upon any other reasonable Consideration And upon both these Accounts there is great cause to rely upon Almighty God as not only best able to assist us but farther as having frequently both by Word and Deed shewn his readiness to do it And accordingly he expects from each one of us that in all our streights we make him our stay and our strength looking past the immediate cause of our Fears or Sufferings Dangers or Necessities to that supream mighty Hand of his which governs and disposes all things and endeavouring to work in our selves such a sense of his marvellous Loving-kindness to all who duely trust in him that whatever our Circumstances be as to this Life we may yet be able to comfort our selves in him whose Mercies are over all his Works not doubting of his Protection whensoever we heartily â—ue to him for it But then to the end that this our Dependance upon him be not vain and groundless but well fix'd and settl'd and which may certainly answer our Expectation these following Particulars are to be remembred SECT I. I. WE are not so to interpret any of God's Promises as if he had obliged himself thereby to fulfill all our extravagant and unreasonable desires It is a common thing for Men to exceed the measure of God's Promises in relation to the Benefits they expect from him not because he doth not promise what is sufficient for each one of us but because they are apt to desire more than is enough Either they aim at great Matters which are too high for them or at least are dissatisfy'd if they meet not with all that they apprehend suitable to their Circumstances and when any Afflictions befall them they are tempted too often to conclude That their Heavenly Father neglects them if he do not think fit presently to set them at ease And whilst they take upon them thus inconsiderately to carve for themselves no wonder if they find those Hopes defeated which are not built upon the Divine Promises but upon their own covetous or ambitious Desires or proceed from their unfitness to bear any kind of Trouble 1. Wherefore the first Expedient in order to a right performance of this Duty is * Sis vis Pothydeam divitem facere non pecuniae adjiciendum est sed cupiditatibus detrahendum Senec. Epist 21. To confine our Desires within their proper bounds not aiming at things above our reach and which every one sees we have no reason to expect Our God is infinitely merciful and gracious and willing to take care of those that faithfully cast their care upon him but he has never engaged to give every one his fill of Wealth and Honour nor of Power and Authority Nor indeed is it consistent with the state of the World that he should do it since †〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Clem. Rom. Ep. 1. p. 49. the lower and poorer sort
the Father And lastly We have the Faith of the Apostles and first Disciples who ‖ 2 Cor. 1.10 in the midst of the greatest Dangers and even of Death it self were not at all discouraged from continuing their Trust in God and by this means had the happiness to prevail in their design of propagating the Gospel here against the united attempts of both Jews and Gentiles to the contrary besides the singular Honour to which they have been long since advanced in the other World Such signal encouragement have we to the performance of this Duty And on the contrary we never find the Israelites murmuring and distrustful of God's Providence but they were presently made to smart for it That Patience and Long-suffering which bare with them in other cases would not protect them when they set themselves thus ungratefully to affront the Majesty of Heaven God might well expect that the numerous Miracles he had condescended to work for them time after time should have disposed them constantly to place their whole Trust in him And when they took the contrary Course and instead of praising and admiring his abundant Goodness towards them stuck not to reflect upon him as if he were not duly mindful of them they might reasonably conclude that he would avenge himself upon them for it * 2 King 7.1 2. Thus it fared with that incredulous Lord who would not believe the Prophet Elisha foretelling that the next day they should be eased of the Famine with which they were so severely streightened in the Siege of Samaria by the Host of Benhadad King of Syria for †v. 17. having the Charge of the Gate committed to him whilst he was attending there as a just Judgment of God upon him for his diffidence the People trod upon him in the Gate and he died after this manner verifying the Prophet's prediction that he should behold the plentiful Provision that would be made for them but should not be permitted to taste of it And thus it was also with their whole People when they were dissatisfied with that wonderful Providence of God over them above all other Nations of which they had had such ample Experience and began to exclaim against God saying ‖ Ps 78.19 20 21 22. Can God furnish a Table in the Wilderness Behold he smote the stony Rock that the Waters gushed out and the Streams over-flowed can he give Bread also can he provide Flesh for his People This was an affront the Almighty could not bear with and therefore was wroth with them for it so that a Fire was kindled against Jacob and anger also came up against Israel And all for this reason because they believed not in God and trusted not in his Salvation The Summ is that faithfully to put our trust in God for whatever good things we want whether for Soul or Body for our selves or ours is a Duty practised and required by the Prophets of old and by our Saviour and his Apostles since together with great Promises annex'd and Mercies vouchsafed to it and with Threatenings on the contrary and dreadful Judgments inflicted when Men have refused to behave themselves accordingly And now to apply this Doctrine a little more particularly though very briefly 1. If a plain express Command require our Obedience here is a Duty positively enjoyned and not once or twice or only by the by tho' this too were enough sufficiently to notifie our Maker's Will but divers times and upon many occasions in multitudes of places in the Old Testament in our Saviour's Divine Sermon on the Mount and in the Writings of his Apostles Insomuch that it is impossible for them who have any reverence for the Authority of Almighty God any regard for his undoubted and oft repeated Commands to refuse in any case to put their Trust in him 2. If Promises of Blessings annex'd to a careful performance of this Duty can engage us to the Exercise of it we have these likewise Promises of Blessedness in general and again more particularly of Life of security from dangers of peace and quiet of mind of success in our designs and of a competent supply of the good things of this World Whence to the necessary Obligations that lie upon us in point of duty to our Lord here is added likewise very good encouragement with respect to our present concerns whereby the rather to invite us to what is thus earnestly pressed upon us And this meditation must therefore be a farther aggravation of their Disobedience who can find in their hearts to live in contradiction to it 3. If the Denunciation or Execution of Punishments upon any that have been remarkably distrustful of the Divine Protection may serve to awaken Persons into a better dependance upon God for the future the History of the Jewish Nation in the Old Testament presents us with a large Catalogue of heavy Judgments inflicted upon that murmuring and discontented People ◠Cor. 10.11 Of whom the Apostle tells us that they were recommended as Examples for the Christian World to the end that we might take warning by their sufferings and observing how they miscarried by not relying duly upon God might become the more cautious not to split upon the same Rock by imitating that provoking Temper of theirs for which they paid so dear 4. If the Paterns of holy Men before our Saviour's Incarnation and of the Apostles and others afterwards and even of our blessed Lord himself that unspotted Exemplar of an intire submission to his Father's Will can persuade us to the imitation of their unwearied dependance upon God for the gracious Completion of all his Promises these are to be met with in great perfection and great abundance throughout the word of God and will therefore mightily shame us if we steer another course to God's dishonour and our own prejudice at least perhaps to our utter Ruine Examples are as Seneca well observes the †Longum est iter per praecepta breve efficax per exempla Senec. epist 60. shortest and readiest way of Teaching and many times prevail better than Arguments nay against all the soundest and weightiest Arguments to the contrary And we must leave our selves intolerably inexcusable if we are backward to attend to them there only where they manifestly challenge and justly deserve our most serious Attention 5. Lastly If the insinite Glories consequent upon the observance of this as well as of the other Duties of our Religion can inflame our Souls with an ardent Desire after them we have here another especial Motive to a conscientious Practice of it We have a recompence of reward set before us that can never be sufficiently valued an exceeding and eternal weight of glory but which is never to be attained to without a sure Trust in God's Mercy and a steady Dependance upon him to take care of us And what now can any possibly imagine should excuse their neglect of a Duty whereto all are thus indissolubly
would never have attained to ‖ Gen. 41.40 41 c. Thus Joseph by being sold a Slave into Egypt came at length to be Governour of the Land which he had never been if he had tarried safe at home in his own Country and in his Father's House Or they may reclaim them from some costly and pernicious Extravagancies wherein they had formerly indulged themselves * S. Luk. 15.11 c. as it fared with the Prodigal Son in our Saviour's Parable Or lastly they may excite them to greater Diligence for the future whereby to arm themselves the better against other like Streights and Exigencies and so may put them into a method of thriving for the remaining part of their Lives And †Multorum mortem distulit morbus saluti illis fuit videri perire Senec. Epist 78. Quam multos militiae morbus eripuit quosdam ne ad ruinam domus suae occurrerent inimicus vadimonio tenuit ne in piratarum manus pervenirent quidam naufragio consecuti sunt Id. de benef l. 6. c. 9. many other ways there are whereby a present loss or other disadvantage may turn to account in this Life making our latter end like ‖ Job 42.12 Job's far better than the beginning But this is a small matter in comparison of the inestimable infinite reward which a good improvement of our Sufferings may procure us in the World that is to come by reason of the influence they generally have for putting persons in mind of a better state and the duty that is required in order to it They are frequently observed to be singularly useful in this respect And it argues an ill temper of mind and a notorious degree of wickedness where they prove otherwise It was a very lamentable Relation that Thucidides * L. 2. gave of the misbehaviour of the Athenians in the time of their famous Pestilence that whilst this Distemper raged most dreadfully amongst them overpowring the Skill of their eminentest Physicians triumphing over all attempts of Cure driving the more considerate of them to the Temples but sparing them no more there than in other places when Death appeared every where in the dismallest shape and without the least pity the use their unhappy Citizens made hereof was but to indulge themselves the more boldly in their Vices pursuant to that Epicurean Doctrine mentioned by S. Paul †1 Cor. 15.32 Let us eat and drink for to morrow we die Considering the manifest uncertainty of their lives they grew past all shame resolving to deny themselves in nothing whilst they lived nor to confine themselves to the observance of their duty because they looked upon themselves and all they had to be but of a day's continuance They had no regard to Modesty Justice or any thing that was becoming but whatsoever they apprehended to be for their Profit or Pleasure they were sure to pursue though by the most unlawful means casting off all fear of God and all respect for Humane Laws and gratifying their most unreasonable Desires without controul because they expected not to live so long as to be brought to punishment for their Villainies And the like miserable account * Jacebant interim totâ civitate non jam corpora sed cadavera plurimorum misericordiam in se transeuntium contemplatione sortis mutuae flagitabant Nemo respexit aliud praeterquam lucra crudelia c. In vita D. Cypriani Pontius the Deacon gives of the Carthaginians and †Pestifera namque lues feraliter insipienti populo incumbit quae in brevi tantam ejus multitudinem remoto mucrone sternit quantam ne possint vivi humare Sed hac quidem emendatur ut illud Isaiae prophetae quoque impleretur dicentis Et vocavit Deus ad planctum calvitium cingulum sacci ecce vitulos occidere jugulare arietes ecce manducare bibere c. De exidio Brit. Gildas of our own Nation when they were infested with the same Disease and ‖ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 l. 6. c. 38. Josephus of some among the Jews when they were plagued with Fire Sword and Pestilence all at once * Ne in summo quidem rerum discrimine cessasse unquam vitia civium usque ad excidia civitatum Salv. de gubern Dei l. 6. As Salvian also complains of the Men of Treves that when they were in a most deplorable condition they yet persisted in their wickedness without any amendment When their City was about to be sack'd by the Enemy they still proceeded to multiply their Abominations as though no danger were near them And when their Ruine was compleated their City burnt and laid waste their People taken Captives or slain and whatever was left remaining gave such occasion of sorrow that †In quâ nescias poene cujus sit sors pejor ac durior interfectorum an viventium Ibid. Ludicra ergo publica Trever petis c. Ibid. it was hard to tell whose lot was hardest of the Dead or of the Living they were still intent upon their Vanities and Pleasures requesting of the Magistrates to have their publick Plays as in times of Safety and Prosperity So little influence had all their Sufferings upon them when they ought much rather to have humbled them in the deepest manner that might be for all those sins which had brought these Miseries upon them From which and other like Instances we may learn to what excess of unlimited Impiety Mankind are too prone to be carried on when they cease to attend to God's Chastisements and the End that he designs in them It was a mighty aggravation of these Peoples Wickedness that they dared to allow themselves in it at a time when God in an eminent manner called to weeping and to mourning and to baldness and to girding with sack-cloath When they should have been most solemnly bewailing their Iniquities and crying earnestly to God for pardon and should have unfeignedly resolved upon a better Obedience for the future they took a quite contrary course as if they had no sense at all of what they already endured or what more they had cause to fear and by this means highly provoked God to have plagued them yet much more severely for all their Abominations Which though very offensive if they had been committed at another season and in other circumstances were in this case more intolerably so as containing in them together with their own natural turpitude and immorality an horrid abuse also of the very means that God thought fit to make use of in order to their Reformation But it was far otherwise with the Ninevites when the Prophet Jonah was sent to forwarn them of the Destruction that was preparing for them and would speedily overtake them except they would amend their doings For no sooner was news hereof brought * Jon. 3.6 7 8. to the King of Nineveh but immediately he arose from his Throne and laid his Robe
which is far better than any temporal Legacy I can pretend to give them By an unreasonable solicitude for them I may offend God and so may wrong both my self and them but I am certain I have no way to promote the welfare of either like an unfeigned resignation of all my concerns to God's disposal and a quiet expectation of Safety and Happiness from him alone This my concern for them may be very absurd and which would appear so to my self if I could but discover how Almighty God has determin'd to dispose of those I am so concerned for It may be he designs that most or all of them should die before me and then it is certainly a very needless solicitude that I have for their subsistence after my death It may be he sees a mean beginning to be the best way for them to rise and flourish in the World and that if they had been more plentifully provided for at the first they would have been apt to grow idle and extravagant and bring themselves into greater streights than they are like to meet with as they are Or it may be again that he foresees some other Provision will be made for them which I am not sensible of some Inheritance like to fall to them or some kind Friend that purposes to take care of them or to bequeath a bountifull Legacy to them or that has an advantage and wants only a convenient opportunity of helping them to some place of profit that may maintain them Or it may be God sees a plentifull Provision of the things of this life improper for them and that they will do best and be most mindfull of their duty and most desirous to work out the eternal Salvation of their Souls in a low condition and why then should I trouble my self with an unaccountable fear least God should deal more graciously by them than I would have desired of him However the case be with them now or whatever it is like to be some time hence it is plain all my solicitude cannot profit them against God's Will but my Trust in him to take care of them may very much profit both my self and them And indeed the truest the greatest and most lasting kindness I can do them as to their temporal concerns is to leave them intirely to his disposal I confess it is fit that each one endeavour after a prudent provision for himself and any that depend upon him as he shall have opportunity But when he doth what he can in this respect it is very unreasonable and absurd not to cast all farther Care upon God but to take as much thought for the morrow as if he had none but himself to take care of him * S. Matt. 6.34 Sufficient to the day is the evil thereof the trouble and vexation that attends it but when People will be doubling this by their own dissatisfactions at present and their groundless Fears and Jealousies for the future no wonder if they make themselves very uneasie But then it is to be remembred that this uneasiness is perfectly of their own procuring not the Portion allotted them by Almighty God but merely the result of their own folly and so is a burden which they have senselesly laid upon themselves or at least which they might quickly have avoided if they would have been prevailed with to put their Trust in God as becomes good Christians This is a second Instance of the admirable benefit of Casting our Care upon God that it is a singular means of quieting our Minds in all conditions rendring us less afraid of any dangers that threaten us less concerned for any Evils that overtake us and less apprehensive of future Misfortunes SECT III. III. BUT it is yet farther useful for entituling to a better State when we shall be translated hence To which purpose it conduces these three ways 1. As it is a necessary part of Christianity 2. As it is a means of our greater progress in the other Duties of Religion 3. As it is a singular Preparative for times of Persecution 1. As it is a necessary part of Christianity a Duty incumbent upon all that profess themselves our Lord's Disciples which God has plainly and often required in Scripture and the performance whereof he as certainly expects from us as of any other branch of our Religion It is * Heb. 6.12 through Faith and Patience a stedfast Dependance upon him and a chearfull resignation of our selves to his disposal to bear all that he shall lay upon us that we must hope to inherit his inestimable Promises We must not suffer our selves to be discouraged by whatsoever difficulties must never †c. 10 35. cast away our confidence in him if we would obtain the great recompence of Reward laid up for his faithfull Disciples in another World Having had such express command to cast all our Care upon him we may as well think to be saved without a love or fear of him or thankfulness for his Mercies or whatever other Vertue as without a conscientious observance of this Command 2. As it is a means of our greater progress in the other Duties of Religion There is nothing serves more naturally to affright persons from sin and to make them indefatigably industrious in the ways of Piety than a continual sense of God's Presence with them observing all their doings to reward or punish them accordingly For it is not easie to imagine how they should dare to indulge themselves in any known iniquity when they call to mind that they are under his All-seeing Eye and that not the least of their miscarriages can possibly escape his notice This if any thing in the World will excite their utmost diligence in exercising themselves to have always consciences void of offence both towards God and towards Man But now this sense of God's Presence with us is no way so well kept up in our Souls as by a continual reliance upon and application to him for whatsoever we stand in need of It can never be that we should forget that infinite Being to whom we are perpetually looking up for his Blessing and whom we are taught to address our selves to upon all occasions for relief but withall whose Favour we are to hope for no longer than we are careful to observe his Will Whence it comes to pass that our very Wants and Calamities Fears and Dangers become a means of our better Obedience by reminding us of the Relation we stand in to Almighty God the Benefits we receive from him and the returns of Homage that he expects from us For howsoever any may encourage themselves in their Wickedness whilst they have estranged the thoughts of God from their Minds they will very hardly know how to continue this their perverseness when they remember they are immediately going to offer up their Supplications to him for some good thing they want at his Hands The meditation hereof will make them ashamed to displease him