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External Evils and Calamities, as far as they are good,can be no Objection against the Goodnefs of Providence; and they are good, as far as the Providence of God is concern'd in them: For they are permitted, and ordered by God, for wife and good Ends; and if they do not prove good to us, it is our own Fault, who will not be made better by them.

Whatever Men fuffer, if their Sufferings do not make them miferable, this is no juft Reproach to Providence; for God may be very good to his Creatures, whatever they fuffer, while they can fuffer, and be Happy; not perfectly and compleatly Happy, which admits of no Sufferings, but fuch a Degree of Self-enjoyment, as reconciles external Sufferings with inward Peace, Contentment, Patience, Hope; which is the Happiness of a fuffering State, and a much greater Happiness than the moft pro-. fperous Fortune without it; and if we be not thus Happy under all our Sufferings, it is our own Fault.

Thus the Wife-man tells us, That it is not fo much external Sufferings (which is all that can be charged upon the Divine Providence) which makes Men miferable, but the inward Guilt and Disorders of their See Sermon beown Minds; 18. Prov. 14. The on that Text. Spirit of a Man will sustain bis infir

fore the Queen,

mity, but a wounded Spirit who can bear? And if all that God inflicts on us may be born, our Mifery is owing to our felves. But I have fo particularly difcourfed this upon another Occafion, that I fhall enlarge no further on it.

2dly, Another Objection against the Goodnefs of Providence, is God's partial and une

qual

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qual Care of his Creatures: And I confefs, Partiality is a very great Objection, both against Juftice, and an Univerfal Goodness; and fuch the Goodness of Providence must be.

The Foundation of the Objection is this: That there are very different Ranks and Conditions of Men in the World; Rich and Poor, High and Low, Princes and Subjects, and a great many Degrees of Power, and Honour, and Riches, and Poverty; and we cannot fay, that God deals equally by all these Men, whofe Fortunes are so very unequal: But there is no great Difficulty in anfwering this. For,

1. The Goodness of Providence confists, in confulting the General Good and Happiness of Mankind, and of particular Men, in Subordination to the Good of the whole. And this fully answers the Objection. For tho' there are too many, who are not well fatisfied with their own Station, and never will be, unless they could be uppermoft; yet I dare appeal to any Man of common Senfe, whether it be not moft for the Good of Mankind, that there fhould be very different Ranks and Orders of Men in the World.

There is not any one Thing more neceffary to the Happiness of the World, than good Government; and yet there could be no Government in an Equality: And there is nothing makes fuch an Inequality, like an unequal Fortune. Were all Men equally Rich and Great, there would be neither Subjects nor Servants; for no Man will chufe to be a Subject, or a Servant, who has an equal Title to be a Lord and Mafter. And then no Man could be Rich and Great, which are only comparative Terms; and

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which is worse than that, no Man could be fafe. And if an inequality in Mens Fortunes be as neceffary as Government, that is a fufficient juftification of Providence, for Human Societies cannot fubfift without it.

2dly. And yet it is a very great mistake to think,that the Happiness of Men differs as much as their Fortunes do; that a Prince is as much happier, as he is greater than his Subjects; for all the World knows, that Happiness is not entailed on Riches, and Power, and Secular Honours; as they have their Advantages, fo they have very troublesome and fowre Allays; and, it may be, upon a true Estimate of things, as different a Show and Appearance as Men make in the World, they are pretty equal as to true Enjoyments. There is very little difference in eating and drinking, while we have wherewithal to fatisfy Nature; for Appetite makes every thing delicious; and the hard Labour of a Poor Man is much more tolerable than Gout and Stone,and those fharp or languishing Diseases, which fo commonly attend the Softness and Luxury of the Rich; and as for Opinion and Fancy it felf, which creates the greatest difference, every Rank of Men make a Scene among themselves, and every Man finds fomething to value himself upon: That, it may be, there is nothing wherein all Mankind are fo equal as in Self-love, and Self-flattery, and a value for themselves; that though there are many Men who would change Fortunes with others, there are few that would change themfelves; and the difference of Fortunes is very inconfiderable, while every Man is fo well fatisfied with himself.

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3dly. This inequality of Fortunes is for the great Good of all Ranks of Men, and ferves a great many wife Ends of Providence. It makes fome Men induftrious to provide for themselves and Families; it infpires others with emulation to raise their Fortunes; it gives Life and Spirit to the World, and makes it a bufy Scene of Action, to keep what they have, and to make new Acquifitions; to excel their Equals, and rival thofe above them; And though through the Folly and Wickedness of Men, this occafions a great deal of Mischief, yet the World would be a very dull place without it, there would be no Encouragement, no Reward for Virtue; Providence it felf would have very little to do; for the visible Rewards of Virtue, and Punishment of Wickedness, is in the change of Mens Fortunes; when Induftry, Prudence, and Virtue, advance Men of a low Condition to the greatest Places of Truft and Honcur, or at leaft to a plentiful and fplended Station; and Prodigality, Luxury, and Impiety, bring Mifery, Poverty, and Contempt, upon Rich and Noble Families; fuch Revolutions as thefe are great Examples of the Wisdom and Juftice of Providence; and therefore the inequality of Mens Fortunes is fo far from being an Objection against Providence, that there could be little vifible Exercise either of the Goodness or Juftice of Providence without it.

I cannot without fome Indignation reflect upon the Baseness and Ingratitude of Mankind, who live, and move, and have their being in God; who know how little they deserve of him, and feel every Day how many Bleffings they receive from him, and yet feem never better pleased, than when they can find, or ignorant

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ly invent fome plaufible Pretence to reproach his Goodness. The Senfe of all Mankind confutes fuch Objections; and I fhould not have thought it worth the while to answer them, were it not a great Satisfaction, and of great Ufe, to contemplate the Divine Goodness even on the darkeft fide of Providence: Which will teach us a patient and thankful Submiffion to God under all our Sufferings, enable us to bear them, and direct us how to prevent or remove them; and give us a more tranfporting Admiration of the Divine Goodness, when we fee it, like the Sun, break through the blackeft Clouds. If the Goodness of God conquer the Sins, the Perverseness of Mankind, and fhines though all. those Miseries which foolish Sinners every Day bring upon themselves; how good is God, when his Goodness flows with an undisturbed, uninterrupted Current!

CHAP. VIII.

The Wisdom of Providence.

THE Unfearchableness of the Di

vine Wisdom, as I obferved above, Chap. 4. is a very good Reason, why we should not judge or cenfure fuch myfterious Paffages of Providence as we cannot comprehend; but yet it becomes us to take notice of, and to admire that wonderful Wisdom which is visible in the Government of Mankind. We cannot by fearching find out God, we cannot find out the Almighty

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