and Sickness which we make the instances of Adversity may become very good Things to us if they render our Minds more Sober Teachable and our Hearts more Meek and Submissive Wherefore the Stoicks who in Matters of Morality came nearest to the Institutions of our Holy Religion were Unanimous and confident in this Maxime that there was no Good or Evil but only Virtue and Vice. So Tacitus describes Helvidius Priscus Doctores sapientiae secutus est qui sola bona quae honesta mala tantum quae turpia potentiam nobilitatem caeteraque extra animum neque bonis neque malis annumerant Tacit. Hist lib. 4. That he followed those Masters of Wisdom who taught that those Things only were Good which were Honest and only those things Evil which were dishonest but Power Honour and other such things which affected the outward Man they accounted not to be either Good or Evil. And tho we Acknowledg that they went too far in this Assertion and that According to the style of the Holy Scriptures we are allow'd to call Temporal things Good or Evil and there be this plain Reason for it because these things respect the Interests of the Body which is a part of the Man tho the ignoblest part in the Composition yet after all we must assert that these outward things are not Good or Evil in an Absolute sense with respect to the whole Man or in the highest Sense with respect o his more valuable Interests and that in the strictest Sense â—hose things only deserve to be accounted good or evil to a Man which can affect the Spiritual interests of his Soul. These notions will be very useful to us for Proportioning our Estimations and Affections toward the things of this World for allowing them to be in some degree Good or Evil we shall be dispos'd to thank God for Temporal Blessings and to humble our Selves under his Temporal Corrections but knowing withal that there are other things which relate to our Spiritual Interests which do comparatively far exceed them in their Goodness or Evil we shall be induc'd to regard these with our highest Estimations and our strongest Affections 2. We are next to consider what that Hand is which dispenseth to us both our Good and Evil things the Text asserts it to be the Hand of God which can import nothing else but the Power and Instuence of his continual Providence whereby he sustains the Beings he hath given us and disposeth of all Events and Circumstances about us so that nothing doth or can befall us without or contrary to the Council of his Will. This hand of providence deals out to every Man that proportion of Good or Evil which the divine Wisdom thinks fit to assign to him so that nothing happens to us by a blind Fortune or an unaccountable Fate but by the Conduct of that good God who is the great Creator and Sovereign of the whole World. If therefore there be any Creatures about us which are Good or Hurtful to us it was the Hand that made them which put those Qualities into them If any Good accrue to us thrô our own Skill and Industry or by the Care and Favour of our Friends we must acknowledg that We or our Friends are but Instruments in the Hand of God for conveying such Blessings to us Or if we suffer thrô our own Default or the Injury of other Men we are to account of our selves or our Enemies as Rods in his Hand whereby he inflicts such Punishments upon us Thus the pious King of Israel acknowledged to God All that is in Heaven or in Earth is thine 1 Chron. 19.11 12. thine is the Kingdom O Lord and thou art exalted above all both Riches and Honour come of thee in thy Hand is Power and Might and in thine Hand it is to make great and to give Strength unto all So on the other Hand the Prophet demands Shall there be Evil in a City and the Lord hath not done it Amos 3.6 and with respect to both kind of Events God himself declares I form the Light Isa 45.7 and create Darknesss I make Peace and create Evil I the Lord do all these things And the Hand of God doth thus concern it self not only in the greatest and most important Events but also in those which may seem most slight and inconsiderable to us for our Saviour assures us that God numbers our very Hairs Luke 12.6 7. and that a Sparrow cannot fall to the Ground without his Knowledg A right Apprehension and firm Perswasion of our entire Dependence on the Hand of Divine Providence in managing and ordering our Conditions in this World would have a very great influence on our Religious Devotion for who would not be careful to please him who hath the dispensing of all Blessings and Curses to whom shall we direct our Prayers for what we want or our Thanksgivings for what we enjoy but to that bountiful Hand which is the Fountain of all our Blessings Or what can make us more Meek and Patient under Correction than the sight of that Almighty Hand which holds the Rod and lays on the Stroke 3. We are in the last place to consider how we should receive both Good and Evil from the Hand of God. Job hath used but one word with respect to both sort of Events and that word Debemus accipere sive excipere cum affectu lubentiâ reverentia acquiescentia id enim 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signisicat nempe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 acipere quod ad Donum sua natura refertur Cocceius in locum doth properly denote such an Acceptance as that wherewith we entertain a Gift from a Superior with a chearful Reverence and a graceful acquiescence Now tho the design of the Argument would require only to explain how we ought to receive our evil Things from God's correcting Hand yet inasmuch as we are equally concern'd in the Duty of receiving Good as of receiving Evil I think it will be worth our while to Study out the right Art of doing both in order to which I shall take both parts of this Duty under a distinct Consideration 1. The right manner in which we should receive our good Things from the Hand of God doth consist chiefly in this threefold disposition of Mind viz. that we receive God's blessings with a contented thankful and an honest Mind 1. We should receive our good Things from God with a contented Mind i.e. with a Mind that can contain it self within those Injoyments which God thinks fit to allow so as to be well pleas'd with his Blessings of whatever Kind in whatever Degree by whatever Means or at whatever Time confer'd upon us not to despise our Blessings or to be dispise our Blessings or to be dissatisfied with them because they are not of such a sort or not so much or do not come in such a way or so soon as we would have them and that
the just wages of our Sin. How absur'd then must it be for us to expect only good Things of which we are most unworthy and to refuse or quarrel at those evil Things which we have justly deserv'd and procur'd to our Selves Shall a Profligat Criminal who hath forfeited his Life expect only the Caresses of his Prince's Favour and think much of induring the confinement and hardships of a Prison If God denied us all his Blessings and allotted only evil Things to our share we could not charge him with any Injustice or have any just exception against his Providence but when our merciful God dispenseth to us a mixture of both it would be a most unreasonable piece of Fondness to accept only the good Things which he frankly gives and to refuse the Punishments which he justly inflicts or to quarrel at him for not giving us those good Things which he owes us not or for sending us those evil Things which are of right due to us Thus the Prophet Jeremiah expostulates in his Lamentation Why doth a living Man complain Lam. 3.39 a Man for the Punishment of his Sin He hath more than his due by being a living Man and not more in bearing the Punishment of his Sin. 4. If our evil Things come out of the same kind Hand which dispenseth our good Things we have reason to think well of them and to receive them with a contented cheerful Mind That our God is very kind and merciful appears from the many good Things we daily receive from him and if he also afflicts us yet we may rejoyce in this that we are in good Hands that we are under the Discipline of one that doth not afflict willingly or take pleasure in grieving the children of Men that he will not correct us immoderately but in Judgment that his merciful Hand will support us while the Hand of his Justice chastiseth us and that he sends us evil Things only to make us more capable of receiving the good Things he hath prepared for us If then all the Blessings we have receiv'd can be but enough to assure us of the Goodness and Faithfulness of God we shall never murmur or despond but rather hope and rejoyce in his Mercy under the worst Dispensations What is good should never be unwelcome to us and nothing but what is good can come from our good God for thô we distinguish and call things Good or Evil yet they are all good as they come from him and may be improv'd by us God who is not led by Passion saith St. Chrysostome 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrysost 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Tunc maxime est optimus cum tibi non bonus Tirtul in Marc. 2.2 whether he bless or correct he is equally Good Yea he is then best saith Turtullian when we think him best Good. Whatever therefore is dispens'd to us by the Hand of God we ought to approve and embrace as Good as Hezekiah did that heavy Doom brought by the Prophet saying Good is the Word of the Lord which thou hast spoken 2 Kings 20.19 Thirdly I come in the last place to make some useful Application of the precedent Discourse which may serve to exhort us to yield to this reasonable Argument of the Text by resigning and submitting our selves entirely to the conduct of Divine Providence for whatever good or evil Things shall fall to our Lot. That we may more easily learn this general Duty we may conveniently divide it into these two particular Lessons 1. That by an entire resignation of our selves to God's disposal we allow him to choose and order for us the Good or Evil which shall befal us he being the Lord who hath the right of disposing both 2. That we contentedly and cheerfully acquiesce in his choice when he hath made and declar'd it to us in the course of his Providence receiving either Good or Evil from his Hand as he hath thought most fit for us 1. Let us be exhorted to resign up our selves entirely to God's disposal to choose and allot for us whatever good or evil Things he shall think fittest for us Almighty God hath an unquestionable right to dispose of us and he will certainly make use of it whether we allow it or not but it will best become us and be most pleasing to God that we should by our own Act deliberately and voluntarily resign up our selves to his Conduct and constute him the disposer of us and of all our Concernments whereby we may make a great vertue of Necessity discharge a necessary Duty and give much Honour to God. This self Resignation imports many pious Acts of the Mind our Acknowledgment and approbation of God's right and Authority of his Wisdom and Faithfulness in disposing of us our choice of him for our Guide our consent to his Conduct yea our Hearty desire and humble Prayer to him that he would condescend to manage and order our Condition for us and it will by consequence restrain us from intermedling in that Affair we have entirely committed to his Management by any anxious Cares or eager Desires or vain Curiosity of our own about it so that we shall imploy our care only in doing what God hath made our Duty leaving it wholly to the great Master of that Family to which we belong to provide for us and dispose of us as he shall think fit This we are taught in those Scriptures which require us to commit our selves Psal 31.5 and our ways unto the Lord Psal 37.5 Psal 55.22 1 Pet. 5.7 Psal 37.3 5 7. Philip. 4.6 to cast our Burdens and our Cares upon him to trust in him to rest on him to be careful for nothing but in all things by Prayer and Supplication with Thanksgivings to make our requests known to God. Thus David when he fled out of Jerusalem resign'd up himself most submisively to God's disposal saying to Zadok Carry back the Ark of God into the City 2 Sam. 15 25 26. if I shall find favour in the Eye of the Lord he will bring me again and show me both it and his Habitation but if he thus say I have no delight in thee behold here am I let him do to me as seemeth Good to him And our Blessed Saviour in a more extraordinary Case suppress'd his own desires and submitted himself entirely to his Fathers disposal saying Mat. 26.39 Nevertheless not as I will but as thou wilt Yea we find this Duty excellently taught by a Heathen who thus adviseth Dare to look up to God and bespeak him after this Manner Epicter l. 2. c. 16. Use me for the future as thou pleasest for I am of the same Mind with thee I refuse nothing that seems Good to thee cloath me as thou wilt appoint me what Station thou thinkest fit whether Publick or Private to abide at home or go into Bannishment to be Poor or Rich I will not only comply my self but will justifie thy Providence
would indeed be very ill for us if God should leave us like Orphans to our own care and disposal and should make our carking Sollicitudes and toilsome Labours as necessary as we think them to be How madly should we order our selves How miserable should we soon make our selves We understand not our own Wants or Capacities or the fitness and usefulness of the things about us we should be ready to choose any Evil that appears speciously or to reject any Good that is not attended with fair and easy Circumstances so foolish and humour some are the wisest Men that if God left Events to their management they would but disturb and destroy themselves and the World about them Is it not therefore much better that we may sit still and not disquiet or mischief our selves with our unwise Cares and rash Projects and that the infinitely Good the only Wise and Almighty God who is the Master of the great Family in which we live our Father and Guardian will vouchsafe to take care of us and order all things about us for our good Why will we toil and cark for our selves when we need not What can we desire better than to be under the conduct of infinite Wisdom and at the disposal of infinite Goodness 3. It is in vain for us to attempt to do more for after all our projecting wishing and striving thô with never so great Earnestness it is not in our Power to attain the good Things which God denies or to refuse the evil Things which God appoints God hath fitted our Nature with faculties for doing so much as he intended to make our Duty and therein we should assiduously imploy our selves but as he never design'd to trouble us with governing the World so he hath capacitated us with no Powers for so vast an Undertaking but hath reserv'd it to himself who hath most Right and is best able to perform it We may as well make an attempt at God's work of Creation as of Providence for both greatly transcend our Skill and Power or try if we can alter the frame of our Natures as well as change the circumstances of our Condition but as our Saviour says we cannot make one Hair White or Black Mat. 5.36 so neither can we of our selves make our Condition better or worse than God hath appointed If our Experience hath not long since convinc'd us of this let us make an Experiment of our Power in changing the Weather in preventing Sickness and Death and if we cannot command these ordinary Events why should we think of ordering others or rather why should we not leave off the folly of attempting what is impossible for us to perform 4. There is great Peace Pleasure and Satisfaction in the performance of this Duty He that hath heartily resign'd up himself to God's conduct and disposal is become a happy Man and leads the most easy safe and delightful course of Life for he hath unloaded his Mind of all his burdensome Cares and dismaying Fears he takes no thought what he shall eat or drink or wherewithal he shall be cloathed much less doth he distract himself with future Wants or distant Dangers because his heavenly Father takes Care of him He can wake or sleep securely and attend on his Duties without distraction he can injoy his Blessings with the greatest Cheerfulness and bear his Afflictons with the greatest Ease and be at all times well pleas'd and fully satisfied because the wisest and best of Beings hath undertaken to manage and order all Things for him And he that can contentedly acquiesce in the Dispensations of Providence is free from the uneasy passions of Grief and Shame he is never disappointed never discontented he never envies the good Things which are dispens'd to another or frets at the evil Things which are allotted to him He never murmurs at God or quarrels with Men or disquiets himself however the World moves about him for all things come to pass as he would have them because he would have them come to pass as God appoints them How very sweet and pleasant must such a state of Life needs be wherein is fulfill'd that saying of the Prophet Thou wilt keep him in perfect Peace whose Mind is stay'd on thee Isa 26.3 because he trusteth in thee 5. Great Benefit and Advantage will accrue to us by a sincere and constant discharge of this Duty By resigning up our selves to God's conduct we effectually ingage the care and favour of his Providence over us for it will not consist with his Honour or his Promise to suffer any who repose their trust in him to be ashamed And how great an advantage must it needs be to have the Wisdom of God to contrive for us his Goodness to supply us and his Power to protect us Is it not a much greater priviledg than if we were receiv'd under the Patronage of the greatest wisest or best Man in the World for what can we want if fed from the Hand of divine Bounty what Evil can hurt us if shelter'd under the Almighty wings By submitting to God's Conduct we shall escape many Sins and Dangers which they usually fall into who would be at their own disposal Yea hereby our evil Things will be turn'd into Good for we shall receive a Blessing with them which will sanctify and sweeten them to us And if we continue always to implore and rely on God's Conduct he will never leave or forsake us till he hath brought us past all our Fears and Dangers up to that Heaven where we shall receive good Things only and shall be able to thank and praise God for those evil Things wherewith he disciplin'd us for our profit that we might be partakers of his Holiness here Heb. 12.10 and of his Glory hereafter This Argument may be farther improv'd by considering more particularly some of the chief Advantages which will accrue to us by submitting our selves to the conduct and disposal of God's Providence 1. In following this Divine Conduct we shall always walk in ways that are right and lawful and thereby escape those sinful Courses which defile our Souls wound our Consciences and inthral us in manifold Miseries when we walk in the Light of our own Eyes and after the Lusts of our own Hearts we run our selves into many dangerous Errors So the Apostle observes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 They that will be rich and follow their own will therein fall into Temptation and a snare and into many foolish and hurtful Lusts which drown Men in Destruction and Perdition For the Love of Money is the root of all Evil which while some coveted after they have erred from the Faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows But if we follow this Heavenly Guide he will never mislead us into any crooked ways not betray us into any Temptations which may prove too strong for us This David mentions as a considerable Advantage of having God for his Shepherd over him
Chap. 1. v. 8. Hast thou considered my Servant Job that there is none like him in the Earth a perfect and an upright Man one that feareth God and escheweth evil Which is a great Incouragement to a good Man that tho the Devil accuse him his Friends reproach him and the World condemn him yet God that searcheth the Heart doth approve and commend him 2. We are informed also from this History how Satan dares to accuse even to God himself his most Faithful Servants if not of outward Scandal yet of inward Hypocrisy for thus the Lying Spirit drew up a Charge against Job Ch. 1 v. 9 c. Doth Job fear God for nought Hast not thou made a Hedge about him and about his House and about all that he hath on every side Thou hast blessed the work of his Hands and his Substance is increased in the Land But put forth thy Hand and touch all that he hath and he will curse thee to thy Face And when this Pretence was refuted he again suggests That if God would put out his Hand Chap. 2. v. 5. and touch his Bone and Flesh he would curse God to his Face Whence we may learn how Satan is call'd the Accuser of the Brethren Rev. 12.10 who accuseth them before God Day and Night and how great a Priviledg the Gospel hath discover'd to us that we have the Son of God to be our Advocate to justify us in the Court of Heaven against the malicious Allegations of this Adversary This also may render an easy account of the perverse Malice of Wicked Men who take great Pleasure in reproaching the Faithful Servants of God if not of any apparent Wickedness yet of some latent suspected Hypocrisy Joh. 8.44 for they being of their Father the Devil his Lusts they will do who is a Lyar and the Father of Lies 3. We may hence also discover that those Calamities which befal Mankind are chiefly wrought by the Agency of the Devil who is describ'd in the Scripture as the Prince of the Power of the Air the Destroyer a Murderer from the beginning the great Tempter and Tormenter of Men the chief Author of all Evil either of Sin or of Misery who sometimes tempts Men to mischieve themselves sometimes to mischieve others and who can use Fire or Water Clouds or Wind or other Creatures to be the Means and Instruments of our Ruine Thus Job fear'd lest he might have Tempted his Children to abuse themselves at their Feast Thus he stirr'd up the Sabeans and Caldeans to rob Job and procur'd a Fire from Heaven to consume his Cattel and Servants and a strong Wind from the Wilderness to overturn the House in which his Children were Feasting and those ill Humours in Job's Body which broke out in Boils from Head to Foot. Which Discovery may be of use to guard us with the strictest Caution and strongest Indignation against that Tempter who is so great an Enemy and may also help us to conceive how some extraordinary Calamities which sometimes surprize us are produc'd tho no other natural causes of them do appear 4. We may further learn from this History that the Devil and his Legions with all their Malice Power are able to effect no Mischief against us but then only and fo far as God gives them permission For we find that the Devil could not hurt Job tho eager in his Malice against him till God said to him Behold all that he hath is in thy Power And at first he could not hurt his Person because God restrain'd him by a Prohibition Chap. 1. ver 12. only upon himself put not forth thy Hand And when the Devil sought to have his Commission inlarg'd God gave him Power over Job's Body saying Behold he is in thy Hand Chap. 2. ver 6. yet then also restrain'd him with this Exception But save his Life And this is matter of great Comfort and Incouragement to us that we are not abandon'd to the powerful Malice of the Devil that tho he goes about as a roaring Lion seeking to devour yet he cannot go beyond the Tedder of his Chain that an Almighty Wisdom and Goodness watcheth over us in a continual Providence and that God will be faithful to us in not suffering us to be tempted beyond what we are able to bear 1 Cor. 10.13 and will with every Temptation make a way for us to escape that we may be able to bear it 5. We are also inform'd from hence that God doth sometimes permit the Devil to afflict his Servants not out of Wrath against them but only to approve and exercise their Graces for the Advancement of his own Glory and of their Praise and for the increase of their Graces here and of their Rewards hereafter This is evident from the Character God gives of Job and the Favour and Delight he expresseth towards him both before and after his Sufferings The Lord said unto Satan Ch. 2 v. 3. Hast thou considered my Servant Job that there is none like him in the Earth a perfect and an upright Man one that feareth God and escheweth Evil and still he holdeth fast his Integrity altho thou movedst me against him to destroy him without a cause This may support and incourage us under any Sufferings when our Consciences can attest our Integrity as Jobs did and teach us to suffer chearfully for God's sake when we do not suffer for our own This may also restrain us from making any reproachful Reflections upon the Afflictions of God's Servants as Job's Friends did on his because God may permit them for other wise and good Ends beside that of Punishment 2. This History doth not only teach us such useful Lessons but also exhibits to us a very eminent pattern of Meekness and Patience very needful to Instruct and Incourage us in the difficult Duty of bearing as we ought those Calamities and Afflictions which are our common Portion in this World. Whilst we dwell in this lower World deprav'd with the Malignity of Sin and Blasted with the Curse of God's Displeasure we cannot but expect to meet with a great variety of Crosses and Disappointments Miseries and Calamities insomuch that Suffering is become at least one half of our Duty and Patience is a Grace of as perpetual and common use as any other whatsoever And this part of our Duty is so irksome to Flesh and Blood that we need the most Forcible Helps and Supports to contain us in the performance of it Now nothing doth more sensibly incourage us under Sufferings then proper and eminent Examples which at once Demonstrate to us that our Afflictions are Tolerable because we see them Born by others and also excite in us a generous Emulation to acquit our selves as well as our fellow Servants who have been in a like or worse Condition But among all the Patterns of Patience there is none comparable with this of Job excepting that of our Saviour who was