into the world In this Word of God we find an account not only of the uncertainty of our Lives but of all the other Goods we possess which belong unto the present state that the possession we have of them is very precaâ—ious and that of a sudden we may very many ways be put out of the enjoyment of those things we esteemed most had kept longest and were most secure of But tho the ways of turning us out of what we have be many yet the Holy Scripture gives us good assurance that we shall never be dispossest of the least good without the Appointment or License of Providence that as we may not set our hearts upon any of the things of the World which we have so we may bear Losses quietly and without ruffling the Peace of our Minds and making any abatement of our Love of God may submit to every change in our condition with the Patience of Job yielding back to the Lord what he had given Sometimes the Scriptures discourse of the strange Changes which are made in Kingdoms how God pulls men down and sets others up by unlikely means and when they least expected it and that in an instant he stript them of their vast Possessions when their Power and Plenty had thrust him out of all their thoughts and they placed their security in their own strength and did not attribute to his Providence the Glory of their Greatness Of the wonderful effects of Providence we have unquestionable examples in all Ages wherein the motion of God's hand hath been so visible that necessity will compel men to ascribe them to him How frequently hath the interposition of the Divine Power been clearly manifest in the Rise and Declension of Kingdoms and in the surprizing Periods which have been put to mighty Empires by small and improbable Causes notwithstanding they were founded in deep Policy and had been of long continuance he in a moment breaking the firm frame of things and turning up the Foundations which were laid by the Counsels of the most skilful and sagacious men VVhen the measure of the sins of a great People is full and their Iniquities are grown up to a ripeness fit for ruin so that God will no longer endure the abuse of his Mercies and the bold affronts which are put upon his Love and Kindness then Destruction comes swiftly upon them and they receive their terrible overthrow from those hands which they did despise Histories of all Countries furnish us with instances of this kind and we may read abundance of the mysterious variety of the workings of Providence in the quick turns and amazing changes which did happen to the Kingdoms of Judah and Israel Either the sick or the lame have strength enough to pull down the mightiest Nation when the crying sins thereof have provoked God peremptori 〈…〉 to resolve that there shall be an end put to all its Glory and Power Of this case we have a memorable declaration made from the Lord to the Jews by the Prophet Jeremy of the fatal Blow which should be given to their Kingdom even by those they themselves had beaten and that only the wounded men which remained should be sufficiently able to set Fire to their City and lay it in Ashes Thus saith the Lord Deceive not your selves saying The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us for they shall not depart for tho ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans that fight against you and there remained but wounded men among them yet should they rise up every man in his tent and burn this city with fire Now when only the wounded and shatter'd remains of a Conquer'd Army shall be able to attack and take a well fortified City the great disproportion between the Instruments and the Work must force the mouths of the Inhabitants to confess that it is the Lord's doings and that their Misery is justly pulled down from Heaven by their abominable sins Wherefore when we behold any Empire or Kingdom that hath been long setled taken deep root enlarged its Borders and was â— Terror to its Neighbours to dissolve on a sudden and tumble down and all the Limbs of this well-built and often-try'd Body at once to be dis-jointed will not in this strange and unaccountable Revolution the Prints be most conspicuous and plain of the All-seeing and All-disposing Providence of God who turns the Wisdom of the Wise into Foolishness does not give the Race to the Swift nor the Battel to the Strong On the other hand to see a small Society or Body of Men preserv'd when environ'd with Powerful Enemies each of which could have devoured it and its State and Condition supported when they did all conspire to work its ruin and Peace and Safety restored by most improbable means where there was no appearance or likelihood of it must be a demonstration that God governs the world and orders all the affairs thereof From hence it is as the Divine Providence hath wonderfully put forth it self in all times so God shews himself highly displeased when his people presume to call his Care of them into question and make any doubt whether he observes their behaviour declaring it to be utterly impossible that he should either neglect or forget them For they say the Lord bath forsaken the earth and the Lord seeth not And as for me also my eye shall not spare neither will I have pity But Zion said The Lord hath forsaken me and my Lord hath forgotten me Can a woman forget her sucking children that she should not have compassion on the Son of her womb yea they may forget yet will I not forget thee Thus I have dispatch'd the first Head of this Discourse namely that nothing can come to us through the whole course of this life without the Order or at least the Permission of Providence and shewn That not only the Prosperity and Adversity the Poverty and Riches the Wisdom and Understanding the Length of Days and Death of particular Persons but also the Growth and Fall of Nations and Kingdoms comes from the Lord Who humbleth himself to behold the things that are done in Heaven and Earth He sheweth loving kindness unto thousands and recompenceth the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their Children after them The great the mighty God the Lord of Hosts is his name great in counsel and mighty in works for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men to give every one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings 2. That we should receive evil from the hand of God as well as good is very agreeable to his Wisdom In the miseries God sends or suffers to fall upon men in this life many of his great Ends in governing the world are serv'd and much Spiritual Profit may accrue to them who by the cross Events and Disappointments they here encounter are wean'd from the world and will not be drawn in
feet and address their Cause wholly to his Mercy David a Man after God's own heart openly confesses to him If thou Lord will be extreme to mark what is done amiss O Lord who may abide it i. e. If God should reckon with the best Man in the World for his Sins and pass Sentence upon him according to his demerits his Punishment would be intolerable Therefore he flies to his Compassion Enter not into judgment with thy servant for in thy sight shall no man living be justified Job who being assaulted with many violent Temptations and harass'd with a number of bitter Calamities yet sinned not durst not however stand upon his own Integrity or think he could make a compleat defence of his Life to God For in answer to his Friend who had wisely observed That mortal Man could not be more just than God or more pure than his Maker he says I know it is so of a truth but how should man be just with God or if he will contend with him he cannot answer him one of a thousand Jeremiah after he had made a large List of the Troubles and Calamities of God's People charges no Injustice upon him as if he had treated them more severely than their Case deserv'd but quite otherwise he humbly acknowledges That it was due to the Divine Goodness that they fared no worse It is the Lord's mercy we are not consumed because his compassions fail not And of this the Prophet gives a good reason because Life and all a Man enjoys by that capacity which is preferable to nothing is the free grant of God Wherefore doth a living Man complain a Man for the punishment of his Sins i. e. While a Sinner has Life he hath more than he can claim and therefore hath no cause to find fault with any smaller evil that God corrects him with for his crimes 3. We must acknowledg the Divine Goodness in our Losses and Sufferings when we consider that in the Gospel there is no express Covenant obliging God to bestow temporal prosperity upon Holy Men. In the Christian Religion there is no absolute promise of worldly Power Honour or Wealth even to them who do perform the Conditions thereof And if God has not tied himself to preserve the Saints always in a flourishing state Shall they who are wicked expect it from him Shall the Sinners demand that as justly belonging to them which he has not made a debt to the best of his Servants Wherefore if God be under no obligation in the Gospel to bestow a greater share of the things of the World which are by Men so fiercely sought after than what is necessary to Life he does not in depriving us of any of our superfluities break any one Condition of the Covenant between us since the smallest Secular conveniency in our possession is more than we can claim or than he contracted for Our Saviour was so far from making any engagement That they who are his Disciples should all be Rich or Rulers or Men of interest in the World that he has declared Father and Mother and Wife and Children and Houses and Lands must all be forsaken where they cannot longer be had without doing dishonour to his Holy Name or breaking the Laws of his Religion And because upon account of their Relations or Riches or Power Men would meet with the most prevailing temptations to transgress the Precepts of the Gospel it is that Christ does pronounce That it is easier for a Camel to go through the eye of a Needle than for a rich Man to enter into the Kingdom of God May we not then be sure that Christ would not encourage his Friends to hope for a constant and steddy current of Plenty and Honours and Pleasure when these things powerfully draw their affections from him and tempt them to blot him out of their thoughts His Kingdom being of another World none of the Glories of this are necessary to the attainment of it And as we do not find that our Lord made any promise to Christians of an abundance of things highly valued by the Men of this World so neither do we observe that he treats Great Men with more respect or gives them cause to expect they shall have kinder usage or receive more favours from him than the Poor and those of low Rank He has made no special Promises to the Rich and Celebrated and Popular Persons But the Beatitudes descend upon the Heads of Men of quite other Qualification Not their outward Circumstances but the holy dispositions in their Souls procure and fetch down his Blessings He blesses the Humble the Poor in Spirit the Holy Mourners the Meek they that hunger and thirst after Righteousness and earnestly desire to fulfil God's Just and Good Will the Merciful the Pure in Heart the Peace-makers and they that suffer Persecution and are evil spoke of by all for Righteousness sake And hence it follows that no body by reason of their Wealth or Honour are greater objects of Christ's love or come more within the Verge of his Care but that men of mean and contemptible state are as much under the Protection of his Providence as those of highest Quality have as plentiful a Portion of his Grace and stand in as near a capacity to the Kingdom of Heaven Had our Lord come into the world incircled with all that Pomp and Power which the Jews expected the Messias should appear with as he could have been no Example of Sufferings to his Followers so would they have been tempted to arrive at some degrees of their Master's Glory and have set their Hearts upon the Greatness and Splendors of the present state when it was so principal a part of his work to teach his Disciples to neglect and despise them Since then the Possession of a large Portion of worldly Goods is no part of the Bargain Jesus Christ made with men in his Religion who only promises a Supply of the Necessaries of Life and since men for the most part have more than what is barely necessary to sustain them they must acknowledg their great Obligation to the Divine Goodness with respect of the fulness and ease of their condition here upon Earth How much men under the Christian Law owe to the Bounty of God more than by the terms of it they could demand is plain notwithstanding you suppose them to perform every condition of the Gospel and to live in a state of innocence but look upon them what really they are as vile sinners and then in God's usage of the greatest Sufferers enough will appear to clear the Justice of his dealings and to convince them who complain most bitterly That he has been Gracious and corrected them with Mercy But further When we reflect upon the utter averseness of the world to the designs of Christ's Religion and the deep Malice which it bears against those who sincerely profess it as we shall see reason to believe and expect that those who
forsake it until laying aside all the Thoughts and Interests of this World we had employed our Souls wholly in making a firm well-grounded and lasting Peace with our God May we so frequently meditate on the Glories of his Nature as earnestly to labour and strive to grow like him in his Truth and Purity and Love and Mercy May we so often spend our thoughts on Heaven that the Joys thereof may deeply affect our souls and become most desirable unto us Did we deliberately consider these things it can be no question but we should make it the great business of our whole lives to fit and duly qualifie our selves for the Kingdom of Heaven We should abundantly more endeavour to live as the Righteous man doth did we oftner reflect upon the unspeakable Comforts which attend his Death did we but seriously think upon the Peace and Joy with which he finisheth his course and departs this Life For Death will only be to him a Passage from bad Men and malicious Devils to Holy Angels and Innocent and Blessed Souls from Labours and Troubles and Toils to perpetual Ease and Quiet and most durable Satisfaction from Pains and Grief and Sickness to Everlasting Delights When the Wicked shall begin to tremble and their hearts to fail and sink within them and their Consciences to astonish and amaze them with a full and lively Representation of their many vile sins and the notorious and shameful abuses they have put upon all God's tender Mercies and of the intolerable slights and contempt with which they have received his Numerous and kind Invitations to turn from their evil ways and live and when there shall be no other Prospect before their Eyes but that of Misery Horror and Confusion then shall you good Christians look up towards Heaven and behold certain signs of your Salvation drawing near O in what a Transport of Pleasure will your Souls be in the minute they are reunited to your Bodies and shall behold that most Blessed and most dear Saviour approching towards you on a bright Cloud whom you have served with all your Powers and the greatest and most solicitous Care to the end of your days whom you have loved above all and denied the fiercest Appetites of the Flesh and stoutly resisted the most pressing Temptations of the World that you might follow him and exactly conform your selves to his most Holy Example When this Glorious Saviour of yours appearing in all his Majesty shall call you forth from the midst of that vast Assembly of men of all Times and Places and looking very graciously upon you shall take particular notice of the Zeal Love sincere Affection and Piety with which you have always behaved your selves towards him and in his Cause O what Tongue can describe the Joy you will feel in your hearts when the Camp of Heaven as it marches and moves on shall shout and rejoice to meet you when the Angels who conceived so much Pleasure at your first Conversion shall loudly triumph at the Consummation of your Happiness O how will your Souls overflow with grateful Reflections upon the Boundless Goodness of God when the Patriarchs and Prophets and Holy Apostles and Glorious Martyrs with all the People of the Lord shall congratulate your escape from a wicked and miserable World and sing and praise their Redeemer at this the accomplishment of your Salvation When having put on a Splendid Body of Light Christ shall present you to his Father on the Throne and reckon up all your Prayers and Fastings and Tears all your Acts of Devotion all your Deeds of Charity and Compassion to those in Misery your readiness on every occasion to comfort Widows relieve Orphans and to deliver the humble and helpless from the hard hands of the Oppressor your Meekness Temperance and Chastity and incessant Pains to reduce your lower appetites to a ready Obedience to the Divine Laws and the suggestions of clear Reason when your Kindness to Strangers your Humility in a Prosperous State your Patience and Submission in Adversity your unshaken Constancy to the Interests of him your dear Master under Persecution and your steddy adherence to the True Faith in the Times of greatest danger shall be all distinctly rehearsed and accepted and adjudged worthy of Eternal Rewards O how thankful will you be to God for the day in which you did seriously begin your Repentance how will you love the man who did minister the occasion and was the Instrument of your sincere Conversion and did first guide you into the right Paths of Everlasting Happiness Do Thou therefore O Lord reveal to us so much of the Beauty of Thy Perfections that with all our Heart and all our Strength we may seek Thee do Thou so direct our Steps that having sought we may find Thee and having found Thee may Reverence Thy Majesty Dread Thy Power Obey Thy Will Love Thy Goodness Adore all Thy Attributes and Increase in all Deeds of Piety until thou shalt put an end to this mortal Life and take us into a Glorious Eternity FINIS †Quod ni ita sit quid veneramur quid precamur Deos Cur sacris Pontifices cur Auspiciis Augures praesunt Quid optamus a Diis immortalibus Quid vovemus At etiam liber est Epicuri de sanctitate Ludimur ab homine non tam faceto quam ad scribendi Licentiam Libero Quae enim potest esse sanctitas si Dii humana non Curant Cic. de nat Deor Lib. 1. * Verius est igitur nimirum illud quod Familiaris omnium nostrum Posidonius disseruit in libro quinto de natura Deorum nullos esse Deos Epicuro videri quaeque is de Diis immortalibus dixerit invidiae detestandae gratiâ dixisse Neque enim tam desipiens fuisset ut homunculi similem Deum singeret lineamentis duntaxat extremis non habitu solido membris hominis praeditum omnibus usu Membrorum ne minimo quidem exilem quendam ac perlucidum nihil cuique tribuentem nihil gratificantem omnino nihil curantem nihil agentem Quae natura primum nulla esse potest idque videns Epicurus re tollit oratione relinquit Deos. Cic. de nat Deor. ib. Ezek. 9.9 10. Isa 49.14 15. Psal 113.6 Jer. 32.18 19. Theodoret. Tom. 4. p. 376. * Let us not so far stray from the Truth as to think any wicked man can be happy because he is richer than Croesus more quicksighted than Lynceus stronger than Milo Crotoniates or more beautiful than Ganymedes For he that has enslaved his mind to a thousand masters to love Concupiscence Pleasure Fear 〈…〉 Folly Lust Injustice can never be happy Philo de Provident Euseb Praep. Ev. p. 387. Wisd 4.7 10 13 14. Clem. Alex. Strom. lib. 1. p. 312.