29.

up this Point. Fear not (faith he to his Difciples) Are not two Sparrows fold for a Farthing? Mat, 10. Yet not one of them falls to the Ground without the Will of your Father. Nay, I fay unto you, the very Hairs of your Head are all numbered. O wonderful this! what! God Almighty num. ber the very Hairs of our Head! Lord, what is Man, that thou fhouldst have fuch Refpect unto him, and do that for him, which even the niceft, and most delicate of Men never yet did for themselves? But thus art thou pleased to exprefs thy particular Regard to the Sons of Men. Thus art thou pleafed to let us fee, that none of us are fo inconfiderable, but that we are within the Verge of thy Providence, and Objects of thy Care. And therefore much more are Cities, and States, and Kingdoms fo, wherein the Fortunes of fo many Individuals are wrapt up.

O, bleffed be God, for his Love to Mankind! O, for ever adored be his Name, for thus humbling himself to take notice of us and our Affairs, and likewife for giving us fuch abundant Affurance that he doth fo! Since therefore we have fuch mighty Evidence of all forts, that the Lord is King, let the Earth be glad: yea, let the Multitudes of the Ifles be glad thereof.

And we shall still fee greater Reafon thus to be glad, if we confider a little more particularly the Rules and Meafures by which God adminifters the Affairs of his Kingdom: Which are not, as too often happens in Human Governments, Arbitrary Will or Humour, but perfect Wisdom, and Justice, and Goodness.

Tho'

Pfal. 135.

6.

Tho' it be true what the Pfalmift faith, That whatsoever the Lord pleafeth, that doth be in Heaven and in Earth, and in the Sea, and all deep Places: yet it is as true, that the Lord will never be pleased to do any Thing, either in Heaven or in Earth, but what is suggested by infinite Goodness, and in fuch Ways as are the Refult of Infinite Wifdom. For as the fame Pfalmift tells us, He loveth Righteousness and Judgment; the Earth is full of the Goodness Pfal. 145. of the Lord. He is holy in all his Ways, and 17, 9. righteous in all his Doings: and his tender Mercies are over all his Works.

Pfal. 33.5.

To fay, That God deals arbitrarily with any of his Creatures; or, that he difpenfeth Good or Evil to them, meerly because he will, without any other Reafon, is in Truth to disparage his Nature, and gives us fuch a Notion of him, as we have perhaps of fome of the Great Monarchs of the World, but whom we are so far from efteeming the Beft Men.

No, certainly, if we, Mankind, find in ourfelves, that the wiser and better we grow, the lefs are we led by Humour and Will, and the more do we shake off our Indifferency to Good and Evil, and the more fteadily do we cleave to the eternal Laws of Reafon and Righteousness in all our Actions; we may be fure that God, who is Wifdom, and Juftice, and Goodness itself, can never, in any of his Actions or Dealings with his Creatures, depart from these Principles.

The true Scheme of God Almighty's Government, is plainly this;

His Infinite Mind clearly understood all the Poffibilities of Things, long before they were

in actual Being. He knew what Things were poffible to be; and how they would act if they were put into Being; and what the Events of all their Actings would be. 100

His Infinite Goodness, moved him to put into actual Being every Thing that he faw was Good to Be; and to give them all those Powers of Action that they have; and withal, to look after them fo, as that both they and all their Motions and Actions fhould at laft be to the Praife and Glory of the fame Goodness, that firft inclined him to create them.

His Infinite Wifdom contrived the Methods, in which all this fhould be brought to pass, and fo laid the Scheme and Platform of Things, that nothing could happen in the whole Creation, from the Beginning of the World to the End thereof, (tho' it was in itself never fo bad, never fo mischievous) but what both might, and should be fo ordered, as to be fubfervient to that End.

And Laftly, The Scheme of Things being thus laid, his Infinite Power first produced All Things, and ftill upholds All Things, and from Time to Time in their feveral Seafons actually brings to pass every Thing, according to the Determinations of his eternal Wifdom. And tho' it doth it in Ways fecret to us, yet it doth it certainly and furely, and withal, most easily and gently, with the leaft Violence to the eftablifh'd Laws of Nature, and without any Force at all upon the Free Wills of Intelligent Beings.

This, I fay, is the Account that both Reason and Scripture give us of God's Making and Governing the World. Infinite Knowledge is

the

the Foundation of All, Infinite Goodness is the Author and Moyer of All. Infinite Wifdem is the Contriver and Director of All; And Infinite Power executes All.....

Admit now thefe Principles, and see what will follow from them.

It will follow from hence, in the first Place, that every Event that happens in the World, is beautiful in its Seafon; as Solomon expreffes it. That is to fay, How unaccountable foever it may appear to us, yet there is a good Reafon to be given, both why it happens at all, and likewife why it happens at that Time, and with thofe Circumftances that it doth. It helps to adorn the Great Drama and Contrivance of God's Providence, and minifters to excellent Ends, tho' we, poor Creatures, do little apprehend how it makes for them; as indeed it is impoffible we should, unless we had the whole Comprehenfion of Things in our Minds, and faw the entire Scheme of God's Government, from the Beginning to the End. This muft needs be fo, if we be Govern'd by Infinite Wisdom.

Secondly, It follows from hence, that both Good and Evil are measured to Mankind according to their respective Capacities. If we be fit for Good, Good will come. If we deferve Punishment, we muft expect that likewife. For All God's Ways are equal, tho' Ours be unequal.

And therefore it is the most unreasonable Thing in the World to impute our Succeffes, whether they be Good or Bad, fo wholly to the immediate Hands that managed our Affairs, as not in the first Place to take notice of the Hand of God in them.

I

There

There is a Divine Power that governs all thefe Matters. And tho' it be true, that no Misfortune, no ill Success ever happens, but there is a Human Reafon to be given for it;. and it may be found out upon what Occafion, or by what Neglect, or thro' what ill Manage ment that Misfortune happened; yet it is as true, that if those that managed for us had the Wisdom, and the Conduct, and the Strength of the very Angels of God, yet their Endea vours would not be effectual, for the making us happy, unless we ourselves were in a Capacity of being fo, by being proper Objects of God's Mercy and Favour. This muft likewife be true, if perfect Justice govern the World.

Thirdly, It follows from hence, that even the feverer Difpenfations of God's Providence towards us; the Things we complain of, and are uneafie under; our very Calamities, and Misfortunes, and Difappointments; even these are the Effects of God's Kindness, tho' at the fame Time they may be likewife Inftances of his Juftice: That is to fay, they are meant really for our Good, and will prove fo, if we make that Use of them we should do.

The very Nature of God is to do all Good, at all Times, to all his Creatures. For, he had no other End in making them, nor has he any other End in looking after them: But God cannot do Good to all in the fame way. Correction, and Chaftifement, and Punishment, is in fome Cafes more expedient for the bringing People to rights, and promoting their true Interefts, than the giving them all that their own Hearts can wifh. In fuch Cafes therefore.

God