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B08803	Several discourses concerning the actual Providence of God. Divided into three parts. The first, treating concerning the notion of it, establshing the doctrine of it, opening the principal acts of it, preservation and government of created beings. With the particular acts, by which it so preserveth and governeth them. The second, concerning the specialities of it, the unseachable things of it, and several observable things in its motions. The third, concerning the dysnoēta, or hard chapters of it, in which an attempt is made to solve several appearances of difficulty in the motions of Providence, and to vindicate the justice, wisdom, and holiness of God, with the reasonableness of his dealing in such motions. / By John Collinges ...	Collinges, John, 1623-1690.	1678 (1678)	Wing C5335; ESTC R233164	689,844	860

man whose sins are covered by God! O let no man despise the riches of Gods goodness forbearance and long-suffering but let him know that the goodness of God leadeth him to repentance Rom. 2.4 5. If he continueth in the hardness and impenitency of his heart he doth but treasure up wrath against the day of wrath and the revelation of the righteous judgement of God Wrath against thee for thy sins lyeth hid at present possibly thy Conscience keepeth silence and doth not arrest and disturb thee the providence of God as to thee keepeth silence judgement is not executed speedily but there will be a revelation of divine wrath either in this life or that which is to come oh therefore break off your sins by a true repentance He that hideth his sins shall not prosper Prov. 28.13 Our sins cannot be hidden from God they are all in the light of his Countenance a man then covereth and hideth his sins from God when he doth not confess and bewail them So long as a man covereth his sins God will not cover them See that experience of David which you have recorded Psal 32.2 3 4. When I kept silence my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day-long for day and night thy hand was heavy upon me my moisture was turned into the drought of summer Selah vers 3. I acknowledge my sin unto thee and mine iniquity have I not hid I said I will confess my transgression unto the Lord and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin Selah Vse 3. In the last place this observation calleth upon all such as fear the Lord and walk before him for a progress in the wayes of God and a patient waiting for the promise The Apostle tells us Heb. 10.36 That we have need of patience that after we have done the will of God we might receive the promise It is our duty as to do well so not to be weary of well doing it is pressed upon us Gal. 6.9 And let us not be weary in well-doing for in due season we shall reap if we faint not And again 2 Thess 3.13 but you brethren be not weary in well-doing There is nothing so far conduceth to make us faint and weary in our duty as when we see nothing comes of it we have hopes and promises but no issue no performance you know Solomon tells you hope deferred makes the heart sick Now this is a great cordial in such a case for us to hear that when providence moveth slowly in bringing rewards to the righteous it recompenceth our patience at last with the riches and liberality of the reward Indeed here are three or four arguments which together with this observation the Apostle hinteth me in the afore-mentioned Text out of the Epistle to the Galathians we shall reap we shall reap in due season Our fainting will spoil our reaping The longer it is before we reap the greater the crop of mercy and blessing shall be which we shall reap 1. We shall reap He that ploweth up the fallow-ground of his heart and soweth to the glory of God and to the good of his own soul in righteousness he shall reap The Husbandman that sowes his Wheat and Barly cannot promise himself that he shall reap the souldier the plunderer may reap what he hath sown a tempest an east-wind lightning many other things may hinder his reaping but he who sowes righteousness he shall reap nothing shall hinder his reaping 2. He shall reap in due season It may be he shall not reap in his season the season which he expected but he shall reap in due season in such a time as the wise God judgeth most seasonable and when he cometh to reap he shall also acknowledge the seasonableness of it that it is in due season we do not know the fittest time for our own mercies God knowes the fittest season we shall reap in due season 3. Consider that our reaping dependeth upon our not fainting we shall reap saith the Apostle if we faint not If any soul draweth back Gods soul will have no pleasure in him he who draweth back draweth back to his own perdition 4. and Lastly our reward will be so much the greater by how much it is slower the rewards of Gods people are ordinarily proportioned to their patient waiting The Apostle Rom. 2.6 having spoken of Christs coming to render to every man according to his work addeth v. 7. To them who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory and honour and immortality eternal life Yea and certainly degrees of glory will be proportioned to our patience those that have had least sensible rewards in this life if there be such a thing as degrees of glory may expect some of the highest seats and mansions of glory in that life which is to come But I shall add no more to this Observation SERMON XXX Psal CVII 43. Whoso is wise and will observe these things even they shall understand the loving-kindness of the Lord. I Go on yet in my observations concerning the Actual Providence of God and that more especially in dealing out distributive justice recompensing the righteous and the unrighteous I observed the last time that it is a thing very ordinary with Divine Providence to proceed slowly in these distributions But by how much slower the punishment of a sinner or the reward of a good man cometh from the Lord by so much the greater both the one and the other is I now proceed to another Observation Observat 17. That the Providence of God is very quick in the distribution both of punishments and rewards unto some I shall discourse it first with relation to punishments and then with reference to the rewards of Providence First As to punishments The Apostle Paul to Timothy 1 Tim. 5.24 hath this expression Some mens sins are open before-hand unto judgement and some mens they follow after likewise also the good works of some are manifest before-hand and they that are otherwise cannot be hid I know it is a Text of which Interpreters give various senses as they understand it of the judgment of God some of them others of the judgement of men and amongst those who understand it of the later some understand it of the judgment of the Magistrate others of the judgment of the Church some of both these some of the judgment of God and the Ecclesiastical judgment also I shall not pretend to give the just sense of it I shall only allude to it in my discourse As there are some sins that are open and manifest with respect to the filth and guilt of them they do not hide their sin but proclaim it as Sodom they go to the Devil with a trumpet before them all the world takes notice of them others sin more secretly and slily and in corners So God as to some sinners sits in judgement presently Some indeed he is more slow with they are kept to the great Assize or for many years but he is

of sin the hearts of sinners are set in them to do evil because judgement is not executed speedily I indeavoured to discourage and check this presumption in my former observation where I confirmed to you that by how much the more slowly vindicative justice proceedeth to the punishment of sin by so much severer the punishment is when it cometh This Observation addeth further to that check for as that which men call slackness is but the long suffering and patience of God not willing that any should perish but that all should be saved by a seasonable repentance So as you have now heard at large discoursed to you neither is God thus long-suffering and patient with all and although God generally be more quick with those sorts of sinners which I have specified to you yet I desire you to observe what I first enlarged upon that there is hardly any kind or sort of sinners but God at some time or other hath picked out some or other of them to make them examples of his severity Thou maist be struck dead while the lye is in thy mouth It was the case you know of Ananias and Saphira Thou maist be cut off in the very Act of Adultery It was the case you know of Zimri and Cosbi Tremble therefore and do not sin God may grant thee many years of patience he may give thee leave to treasure up wrath to thy self against the day of wrath but thou canst not promise thy self an hours patience But above all fear those sins which God usually is so quick in punishing Fear blaspheming God or the King we live in a blaspheming age wherein have been more bold darings of God than in former times God hath revenged his glory upon some of them they have been cut off in their youth before they have lived out half their dayes If another generation riseth up and approveth their sayings wait but a while and you will see vengeance overtaking them also Fear doing any thing against the life of others who by the law of God ought not to dye Blood-thirsty men shall not live out half their days you fee Gods vengeance against this sin is very quick 2. This Observation affords a great encouragement to the service of God especially to eminent actings and sufferings for God There is a reward for righteous men if they go without it to their dying day yet they shall be recompensed in the generation of the just Heaven will pay for all but God doth not always take so long a day to recompence them Many have a reward in this life and that which is to come The Scripture is full of promises even of the good things of this life to godliness in the general and to the several parts and acts of godliness These promises indeed are not made good to every child of God in specie but only in equivalent yea transcendent mercies But even these promises are made good to many and they may be thy portion however thou shalt not miss of the greater things Particularly this layeth an engagement upon all that fear God as God calleth them to it and giveth them advantage for it to signalize themselves by eminent actings or by some eminent sufferings such you have heard God ordinarily payeth presently and besides that eternal recompence which they have in glory they are in more outward and sensible things or in more inward influences of grace recompensed in this life Those that eminently honour God he will honour and many of them have a double mess sent them from the Lord. SERMON XXXI Psalm CVII 43. Whoso is wise and will observe these things even they shall understand the loving-kindness of the Lord. I Am proceeding yet in my Observations upon the motions of Divine Providence that which we call Actual Providence in its administration of distributive Justice both in the punishment of sinners and the rewarding of the righteous Divers Observations I have already made I am come to the Observat 18. Which you may please to take thus That the Providence of God doth very ordinarily with the punishments of this life chastise the past and pardoned sins of people In the handling of which I shall 1. Justifie the Observation 2. I shall shew you the reasonableness of this motion of Providence and reconcile it both to the justice and goodness of God 3. Lastly I shall make some practical application of it That it is so I shall prove by two famous instances the first of David the second Job David you know had fallen into two grievous sins Adultery with Bathsheba and the murther of her Husband Vriah God sendeth the Prophet Nathan 2 Sam. 12. to David to convince him of his sin who doth it by a Parable Davids heart melteth v. 13. and he saith unto Nathan I have sinned against the Lord. Nathan tells him the Lord hath also put away thy sin The sin you see was both past and pardoned but mark what follows v. 14. Howbeit because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme the Child also that is born unto thee shall surely dye He had told him before v. 10. That the sword should not depart from his house and v. 11. That he would take his wives before his face and give them to his neighbour and he should ly with them in the sight of the Sun All this was afterward justified by the Actual Providence of God The Child died 2 Sam. 12.18 Amnon defloureth his Sister Thamar and is slain by her Brother Absolon 2 Sam. 13.14 29. Absalom Davids own Son lieth with his Fathers Concubines in the sight of all Israel 2 Sam. 16.22 Absolom is slain in a rebellion against his Father c. Nay not only thus but God punisheth David with horrors and terrors in his mind with diseases in his body as you may gather from Psal 6. Psal 51. and the rest of those Psalms in which he expresseth his repentance David prayeth Psal 25.7 Remember not the sins of my youth nor my transgressions Job complaineth unto God Job 7.2 3. As a servant earnestly desireth the shadow and as an hireling looketh for the reward of his work so am I made to possess months of vanity I know the words are capable of another sense as vanity may be understood for affliction and misery or the frustration of his expectations but I should rather interpret it by the words of the same Job 13.26 27 28. For thou writest bitter things against me and makest me to possess the sins of my youth c. Moses and Aaron sinned against the Lord at the waters of Meribah I do not think that any of you doubt but that God pardoned their sin yet it is certain that God punished them and that for that sin God himself tells them so Deut. 32.50 51. That the Providence of God doth this is evident The second thing may seem to have more difficulty in it viz. How this is reconcileable either to

men and heads of several idolatrie Jeroboam he brought in the worshipping of the true God by Calves set up at Dan and Bethel and Ahab who brought in the worshipping of Baal both of them very wicked men and God proceeded to execute vengeance slowly upon them but when it came it was a dreadful vengeance Of Jeroboams house none but a little Son came to the grave in peace For Ahab himself you know he was slain in a battel his queen was thrown headlong out of a window and her brains dashed out and the dogs licked her blood his second Son was slain by Jehu seventy more of his Sons were slain by the command of Jehu It were easie to give you infinite instances out of story but I leave it to your experimental observation Mark any person whom you see exemplarily wicked yet God is patient with him a long time and observe what havock God makes with him and his posterity when he beginneth to reckon with him And indeed it seems very reasonable if you consider 1. That by reason of Gods slowness to punish the sinner his sins are multiplied and aggravated to an exceeding great number and degree It was Solomons observation which we shall see verified in our daily experience Eccl. 8.11 Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil The iniquity of the Amorites had not been full if God had not been so patient with them This makes them as the Apostle speaks treasure up wrath against the day of wrath and the revelation of the righteous judgement of God Now the righteous God rendring to every man according to his work must proportion his judgements to peoples sinnings The more their sins are the greater shall his wrath be 2. The more patience is abused the more means of grace are lost the greater alwayes is divine vengeance Now where God proceedeth slowly to vengeance there he exerciseth most patience There patience is most abused there more space and time for repentance is lost there is most despising of the riches of divine goodness forbearance and long-suffering Et laesa patientia fit furor abused patience turns into fury It maketh a patient and long-suffering God cry out by his Prophet Ah! I will ease me of mine enemies and avenge me of my adversaries him that knoweth not how to give up Ephraim to set him as Admah and Zeboim two of the Cities whom he so dreadfully destroyed by fire and brimstone It maketh God who is a Lamb in his own nature to transform himself into a Lion a Leopard a Bare rob'd of her whelps O it is a dreadful thing to abuse much divine patience Now where the providence of God hath appeared slow in punishing sinners there must much patience have been shewn And it must have been abused too if a sinner continues hard-hearted and impenitent I have given space saith God to repent of her fornication and she repented not Rev. 2.21 22. Behold I will cast her into a Bed c. into great tribulation and I will kill her children with death Besides that God seldom exerciseth patience long with sinners but he gives them also other means of grace and they are abused and slighted Noah preached to the old world saith God My Spirit shall not alwaies strive with man and I need not tell you how dreadfully God threatneth Corazin Bethsaida and Capernaum for their abusing the means of grace they had had above other places The like might be proved concerning the providence of God in the distributions of rewards the slower the motion of Providence is in the giving them the greater ordinarily the rewards are It was a great while before Abraham had a Son but when he had him it proved to be one that was a great blessing both to his Fathers family and to the world Rebeccah went twenty years without Children Gen. 25.20 26. but then twins struggle in her womb and she brings forth two great Princes and one of them who was to be the head of the only people God had upon the earth Rachel was for some years barren Gen. 29.31 c. 30. v. 1. when God gave her a Child it was Joseph who proved such an eminent blessing to his Fathers house The Wife of Manoah was barren Jud. 13.2 she bringeth forth Samson Hannah 1 Sam. 1. was barren she bringeth forth Samuel Elizabeth was barren she brings forth John the Baptist Thus you see it as to the blessing of Children It was a long time before God brought the seed of Jacob his servant out of their difficulties but when he did he brought them into Canaan the Land which the Lord cared for upon which his eyes were from the beginning of the year unto the end thereof a land which flowed with Milk and Hony There was a great time betwixt Josephs dream and his exaltation in Egypt There were eight years betwixt Davids Vnction and Coronation in Hebron More instances might be given but it is no more than we shall ordinarily observe in the motions of divine providence the slower the mercy cometh the fuller it is and greater blessing when it cometh Gods people have ordinarily their greatest peace and comforts after their longest and greatest trials and afflictions The reasonableness of this motion of divine Providence appeareth in this that look as in punishing of sinners where Providence moveth slowly it usually hath a great heap of sins to reckon with men for so here it hath great faith and patience to reward in this case Tribulation worketh patience and patience experience saith the Apostle Rom. 5. where there is long tribulation there must be the exercise of much faith much patience much hope and this brings forth much experience Gods greatest rewards of joy and peace in the inward man of eternal life glory and happiness come after much waiting The Apostle telleth us Heb. 10.36 You have need of Patience that after you have done the will of God you might receive the promise The receiving of the promise then is after much patience in doing the will of God and Rom. 2.6 7. The Apostle tells us that God will render unto every man according to his deeds to them who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory and honour and immortality eternal life But I have been large enough in the confirmation of this observation I proceed to some application of it Vse 1. In the first place What can strike a greater trembling into the loins of sinners than this I shewed you before that the punishment of a resolved impenitent sinner is certain and constant As well may he promise himself that he shall not dye as that he shall not be turned into Hell and at last hear that dreadful sentence depart from me ye cursed into everlasting burnings it is constant though he is not sensible of it yet God is angry with him every day he every day groweth worse and worse more

life as they can I say which way soever men will consider themselves or whatsoever they will place their ultimate felicity in whether it be in the enjoyment and vision of God to eternity or in living long and happy Still it is their highest wisdom both in their personal capacities and in their relative capacities as they stand related to others in their political or oeconomical relations as Princes Subjects Husbands Wives Parents Children Masters or Servants to govern them according to the rules and by the square of the word of God Now the observation I say of these ordinary dispositions of Divine Providence must therefore be exceedingly conducive to the increase of spiritual wisdom in our souls 2. This Observation will also teach us to understand the loving kindness of the Lord. The glory of God is by all Christians confessedly the end of mans creation and ought to be made the end of his action but herein appeareth the transcendent goodness of God That no man can act for his glory but he must also by the same actions consult his own good and be wise for himself So that in truth there is no man serveth God for nothing but in the same action by and in which he obeyeth God he also consulteth his own life health riches success in business and whatsoever can contribute not only to his eternal felicity but to his felicity and happiness in this life Now how wonderfully doth this speak the love of God to the children of men Every mans reason will tell him that there is a duty of homage and honour which is due from man unto God God is our Creator we are his creatures In him we live move and have our being and equally depend upon him for our preservation and sustentation from his Providence as derive from him as our Creator and the first Author of beings to us Now as it is in the power of any man in the cause to prescribe the honour and homage which shall be grateful and acceptable to him so undoubtedly it was in the power of God and free to him to have prescribed us an homage and service that should have impeached and prejudiced or some way disadvantaged us as to our external felicity and the accommodations of this life which should make it sweet to us But in this see the great loving kindness of the Lord That no man can possibly at more advantage serve himself and the good of his Family or City or Country than by serving God and indeavouring to square his whole converse to the rule of Gods word governing himself by the Scriptures and the rules of life which it gives nor doth God require any thing of us that is ungrateful to that true Reason which is in every man All the commands of God do but pinch us in the exercise of our Lusts and Passions the exercise of which if they have their liberty and were not by a Divine Law restrained would have no better an effect from their natural tendency than the imbittering of our lives by aches and pains and grievous diseases by the rebellion crosness and undutifulness of our relations by a liberty to injustice fraud deceit and oppression This is a great demonstration of Gods loving kindness that in his rules for the government of us he hath twisted our interest with his own and made it necessary for those who most consult his honour and glory most to consult their own good and happiness and that not only as to a life to come but as to this life also Vse 2. We may learn from hence the true reason why the most of men are cursed with the want of temporal blessings I say the most of men for what I told you before must be remembred that from these general rules we must always except those particular causes where God either for the punishment of some sins in his people or for the trial of their faith and patience having reserved a better portion for them in the world to come doth think fit to exercise them with the denial of the sensible blessings of this life But setting aside those cases the general cause is their not living up to that conformity or square to the Divine rule to which they ought to live but either failing in the duties of piety and exercise of Religion to which the Divine law bindeth them or in the duties of probity and moral honesty justice temperance sobriety unity and amity which the same Law doth require of them What wonder is it to see the lazy sluggard poor Hath not God said to him Prov. 6.9 How long wilt thou sleep O sluggard when wilt thou arise out of sleep v. 11. So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth and thy want as an armed man Or to see Oppressors and Gripers of their neighbour-poor God hath told them Prov. 10.15 The destruction of the poor is their poverty Or to see the penurious man grow poor hath not God told us That to withhold more than is meet tendeth to poverty Prov. 11.24 What wonder is it to see Drunkards and Gluttons poor Hath not God said The Drunkard and Glutton shall come to poverty and drousiness shall cloth a man with rags Prov. 23.21 what wonder is it to see those that are companions of leud persons drunkards adulterers Gamesters c. grow poor Hath not God again said Prov. 28.19 That he who followeth after vain persons shall have poverty enough O Israel saith God by the Prophet Hoseah Thou hast destroyed thy self but in me is thy help Hos 13.9 it is true as to mens eternal ruine but the Prophet there primarily speaks of mens destroying themselves by being the causes of punishments in this life to themselves men destroy their own lives healths bodys by drunkenness gluttony uncleanness their estates by sloth and luxury the comforts of their own lives by giving an unbridled liberty to their lusts and passions indulging the lustings of their flesh The righteous God is not to be accused for any of these things He hath given men a righteous law which to their reason approveth it self to be holy spiritual just and good but they are carnal sold unto sin slaves to their appetites to their sensual faculties and either ruine themselves by their irreligious or immoral behaviours and doing those things over which if God had not by his severe threatnings in his word hung a sword of Divine Vengeance yet in themselves and of their own nature they have a tendency to destroy life health to wast and consume estates and to deprive them of all those good things which may accommodate their lives and make them sweet and pleasant to them and in the day of their affliction they must lay the fault upon themselves and excuse God in the motions of his Providence acknowledging that it hath but fulfilled his word and brought to pass the just threatnings of his word nay not so only but that it hath only brought natural things to

pass in a natural order and by natural ways and means suffering poor sinful wretches to walk in their own ways and then penally producing the effects the natural and proper effects of such courses and giving them the fruit of their own doings filling them with their own ways and with that calamity and misery which they like foolish people have pulled down upon their own heads and could reasonably expect no other issue than what they meet with Vse 3. In the last place how doth this call upon all men after the example of holy David to make the word of God a lamp unto their feet and a light unto their paths Not to be conformed to the world but transformed through the renewing of their minds that they may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God Rom. 12.2 You remember I reduced the whole will of God concerning us to three heads indeed two comprehend all 1. Piety towards God 2. Probity or honesty of conversation before men now that last comprehendeth all acts of justice and charity or kindness and Brotherly love 1. Let Magistrates command their Subjects Masters of Families command their Eamilies the fear of the Lord and set examples of Religion before them let them give people liberty to serve and worship God and exhort and encourage them to do so Let them restrain irreligion and prophaneness observe if those Nations those Towns and Cities those Families do not most thrive amongst whom God is most strictly served and worshipped if in those places where there is least of Religion there be not also most beggery and poverty like an armed man rushing in upon them Hark what Solomon saith Prov. 3.13 Happy is the man that findeth wisdom and the man that getteth understanding v. 16. Length of days is in her right hand and in her left riches and honour 2. Let every one maintain justice and judgement giving to every one their due according to the capacities in which they are Magistrates truly dispense distributive justice giving out rewards to good men and inflicting punishments upon evil men according to their merits discountenancing all violence and oppression all luxury and intemperance in short all manner of sin and debauchery Let private persons give their due to their Superiors their Inferiors and Equals for what is that which God requires but to deal justly Let them be just in their dealigns one with another not cozening and cheating and defrauding one another 3. Finally Let all men according to the Apostles exhortation study to be quiet to forbear biting and devouring one another and indeavour to live peaceably and at unity following peace with all men and doing what good offices lie in their power each to another according to the command of God All these things now have promises of spiritual blessings and eternal happiness of a life to come but if that be too far off for men who have not faith to be affected with and moved by there are you see other promises to incourage these things even promises of sensible goods length of days riches and honor and whatsoever our sensitive appetite desireth and calleth good as grateful and acceptable to it Mal. 3.10 Bring you saith God all the tythes into the Storehouse that there may be meat in my House and prove me now herewith saith the Lord of hosts If I will not open unto you the windows of Heaven and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room to receive it and I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes and he shall not destroy the fruits of the ground neither shall the vine cast her fruit before the time in the field saith the Lord of hosts The Prophet there mentioneth but one thing not robbing God of his tythes but certainly it is to be understood synecdochically We may certainly by warrant of that Text speak to all people all families all persons Worship God set up the practice of Religion in all your Societies do justly study peace and amity one with another and try God herewith if he will not open to you the windows of Heaven and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it We complain that poverty is breaking in upon us like an armed man Trade faileth Estates waste men every-where come to beggery We must lay all the fault upon our selves God is not altered in the course of his Providence the change is in us The world as to matters of justice is grown but one great cheat every one studies by violence to oppress his neighbour the greater devours the less like the fish in the Sea men in their Trades and dealings do but study to circumvent one another and to go beyond them in buyings and sellings and bargains and exchanges Men are grown generally like Ishmaelites every mans tongue and hand is against his Brother and his Brother's is against him again God never commanded a blessing upon any part of the world that was of such a complexion Let me conclude all with the Apostles words 1 Pet. 3.10 11 12. He hath been perswading in that Chapter the relative duties of Wives and Husbands in the seven first verses vers 8. he speaks more generally Finally be ye all of one mind having compassion one of another love as brethren be pitiful be courteous not rendring evil for evil or railing for railing c. Now mark the Argument he useth vers 10. For he that will love life and see good days let him refrain his tongue from evil and his lips that they speak no guile let him eschew evil and do good let him seek peace and ensue it for the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous and his ears are open unto their cry but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil And this is demonstrated by the frowns of his Providence upon them The Apostle takes this out of Psal 34. So that you see it is the Doctrine of both Testaments and what you shall observe God confirming every day in the issues of his Providence daily fulfilling his word But I shall add no more upon this Observation and also here shut up my discourses upon the Observanda Providentiae And hereafter pass on to the last part of my intended Discourse concerning the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the difficult things of Divine Providence in the motions of which it is true which the Apostle saith of Pauls Epistles there are many hard things difficult to be understood which ignorant and unstable persons are very prone to wrest to their own destruction to prevent which God willing I shall attempt something in my succeeding Discourses upon this Argument A DISCOURSE Concerning DIVINE PROVIDENCE PART III. Goncerning the difficult things of Divine Providence Galat. III. 22. But the Scripture hath concluded all under sin that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe I Am now come to the last part of my

most vile and wicked men in the world to chasten those that are more righteous than they are This was Davids case Saul and Absolom who you know were his great Enemies were both most vile and wicked persons and that which Habbakuk expresly complained of Hab. 1.13 And sufferest the wicked to devour the man that is more righteous than he The Caldeans a vile and wicked people to devour the Jews who were the only people God had upon the Earth at that time Here are three Questions to be spoken to 1. How it standeth with the Justice of God to measure out good things to the vilest and worst of men 2. How it standeth with the Justice and Goodness of God by his Actual Providence to dispense out evil things to the best of men 3. How it is consistent with the Justice of God to suffer the wicked to devour the man that is more righteous than himself I will begin with the first where we must enquire 1. What good things wicked men have 2. We must vindicate the Justice of God in the distribution of them to them The good things which a wicked man hath can be only the good things of this life for the good things of another life they have no part nor portion in that matter 2. They can be none of the good things of grace special grace they are without God without Christ without hope Hence must follow that the good things of which alone they are capable are either bona corporis the good things of the body such are life health strength c. or the good things of fortune as the Heathens call them such are riches honours pleasures or the good things of the mind such as are learning wit c. These good things wicked men are capable of the wicked may live become old be mighty in power Job 21.7 There may be no bands in their death their strength may be firm they may not be in trouble as other men as the Psalmist speaketh here in this Psalm Now this being first premised I come strictly to speak to the Question 1. In the first place I desire that may be remembred which in some of my former discourses I commended to your observation That as adversity is not the portion of every child of God so prosperity is not the portion of every sinner nay if you fix your eyes upon any certain number of good men that live up to the rule of Gods word and a like number of leud and wicked men who live without a God in the world you will find that as to outward prosperity is on the side of them that fear God Wisdom hath riches and honour in her hand as well as grace and glory that which cheats us is the odds that is in numbers betwixt men who fear God and such as fear him not but fix your eye upon any number of certain persons on either side and you will see that Gods fulfilling of his promises to good men for the things of this life such as health long-life riches honour c. to such as fear him are not made in vain and the justification of Gods truth in them doth not stand in need of those distinctions which we ordinarily make use of they are only some that God prospereth 2. As there is no godly man but hath sin enough to justify in his afflictions so there are many wicked men who may have done some service for God which will justify God in such rewardings of them It is but just with God as I have shewed you for God to reward men for the service which they have done for God he rewarded Jehu Assyria and Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon 3. I have shewed you that God with the rewards of this life doth often reward and with the punishments of this life doth often punish relations in their correlates so God may reward if not the person for some service he hath done for God yet he may reward a Father a Grandfather in the riches and honour and outward good things which the present sinner doth enjoy it was thus you know in the case of Jehu the prosperity of Joash and Jeroboam and another or two descended from Jehu was but the reward which Jehu had for his service against the house of Ahab But I have enlarged my discourse upon all these things before and do only hint them here 4. The good things of this life are not truly good they are only called by us good because of their gratefulness to our sense they are in themselves but things of a middle nature good or bad as we use them well or ill It is the saying of Nierembergius an acute Author though a Jesuite Fortunantur improbi larvatis hujus vitae bonis ad correctionem nostrae opinionis ne putemus illa bona posthumae nostrae foelicitati comparanda Wicked men saith he are inriched with the specious good things of this life to correct our judgments that we may not judg that those things are worthy to be compared with that felicity which we after this life shall enjoy The wiser Philosophers in their disputes about the happiness of man in this life which they rightly enough determined must lye in the enjoyments of the greatest good and their further quest what that summum bonum was determined it could not be the good things of the body nor the good things of fortune as they call them we speaking more like Christians call them the good things of Common Providence but at last determined the wiser of them I mean that it was the goods of the mind in conjunction with a competency or a moderate portion of the good things of the other natures But Religion teacheth us to consider man in another notion than they by the conduct of meer natural reason could consider him as a creature under an ordination to an eternal existence and capable of an union with and an enjoyment of God Now upon these two Hypotheses it is impossible that the good things of this life should be vere bona truly good things and that upon these two grounds 1. They reach not to another life What is our inch of time to Eternity Now all these things leave us in the very hour that our soul goes out into an eternal state Riches honours pleasures strength of body c. all leave us when the body dyeth 2. Again While we are in the possession of our breath all these things do signify just nothing to the felicity of the soul which is far the better and nobler part of man the interest of the soul lyeth in its union and communion with God to which none of these contribute any thing so that the objection proceedeth upon an hypothesis that is meerly false it supposeth that God distributeth things truly and properly good to wicked men he only distributeth such things to them as have a shew and appearance of good such things as to their palats and sense are good but