Gods Three Arrows, Section 1 – Section 4
§. 1. Of the meaning of the text.
Mat. 10. 29,Are not two ſparrowes ſold for a farthing? and one of them ſhall not fall to the ground without your Father.
30,But the haires of your head are all numbred.
31.
Feare ye not therefore: ye are of more value then many ſparrowes.
THE maine Scope of the latter part of this Chapter, from the ſixteenth verſe to the end, is to encourage Chriſts Diſciples in ſpeciall, but in generall, all Chriſtians againſt all that (for their vocation and profeſſion ſake) can by man be done to moleſt or annoy them.
Among other arguments tending to that Scope, one is with much emphaſis preſſed in this text. The argument is taken from Gods Providence: and enforced by the extent of that Providence. In expreſſing hereof every word hath his weight.
1. Among Creatures upon which the divine Providence exerciſeth it ſelfe, not the glorious Creatures in heaven, but ſuch as are aforeign.upon earth, are culled out to give evidence thereof.
2. Among creatures on earth, choice is made not of ſuch as are Lords, or beare the divine image in their reaſonable ſoule, but of an unreaſonable creature, a bird.
3. Among unreaſonable creatures, is culled out, not the greateſt Quis diſpoſuit membra pulicis & culicis ut habeant ordinem ſuum, &c. Aug. Enar. in Pſal. 148.as the whale in the water, the elephant or lion on the earth, the eagle in the aire, but a little bird, a ſparrow.
4. Among theſe little birds, the leaſt is mentioned and expreſſed by a cforeign paſſerculus. dimin. of foreign or foreign.diminutive, little ſparrow.
5. The more to manifeſt the meaneneſſe of this creature, the price thereof is ſet downe: which is the leaſt price in uſe, a farthing. Here alſo to amplifie the meanneſſe of this price, a diminutive is uſed, a dforeign minutus aſſis.little farthing. And as if one little ſparrow alone were not worth any price at all, eforeign. Providentia Dei quin que paſſeres qui venduntur dipondio, gubernantur. Hier. Comment. l. 3. in Eph. 5.two ſparrowes are ſaid to be ſold for one little farthing. Yea, in Luke 12. 6. five of them are ſaid to be bought for two little farthings.
6. To declare the divine Providence to extend it ſelfe not onelyonly to the ſeverall kinds of creatures, but alſo to every particular, it is added, fforeign.not one of them.
7. To prove that the moſt caſuall things are ordered by Gods providence, he ſaith not of this little bird, it is fed, or preſerved, but it gforeign.falleth not, indefinitely. Now there are many wayes whereby little birds fall to the ground. If they be kild they fall downe. When they want meat they fall downe. They fall downe to gather ſtrawes and feathers for their neſts. They oft fall downe on meere caſualty, flying from tree to ground, from buſh to ground, and from other places to the ground, on a kind of wantonneſſe: yet in all theſe, or any other particulars, this falling downe to the ground is ordered by the divine Providence.
8. To ſhew, that yt God which ordereth all the forementioned matters, is the ſame God, who hath ſo far reſpected man, as to give him the greateſt gift that poſſibly he can give to any creature, and whereof any creature can be made partaker, (namely Ieſus Chriſt his onelyonly begotten Sonne, in him to adopt us to be his children, and to provide for us as for his children) he uſeth this note of ſpeciall relation betwixt God and man, hforeign.your father: implying thereby that he may not, that he cannot be thought to neglect thoſe children of men, whoſe father he is in an eſpeciall manner.
9. To amplifie all very emphatically, by an interrogation he propoundeth the point, iforeign.Are not? &c. whereby he appeales to common experience, and makes even themſelves to be Iudges of the caſe: as if he ſhould ſay, Enquire of any man: yea you your ſelves tell me if it be not ſo and ſo.
10. To make us the better to apprehend the ſcope of all Mat. 10. 31.that hath beene ſaid concerning Gods Providence, Chriſt himſelfe makes application thereof to us in verſe 31: and that with an elegant amplification, in theſe words, Ye are of more value then many ſparrowes. He ſaith not ſimply, you are as good; but tranſcendently, more worth. Againe, not many foreign.of you as good as one ſparrow, or one of you as one ſparrow; but one of you more worth then many ſparrowes. And ſo much foreign.doth this indefinite phraſe imply, ye are, that is, every one of you is of more value, &c.
Hitherto Chriſt hath ſet out one inſtance of the divine Providence, taken from one of the leaſt of unreaſonable creatures. He addeth another inſtance concerning the leaſt of thoſe things which appertaine to man, and that is, his haires.
In ſetting downe this he is alſo very emphaticall; for, every word hath his weight.
VERSE XXX.
But the very haires of your head are all numbred.
1. kforeign.Hairs may well be accounted one of the meaneſt things that belong to man. Philoſophers account them rather excrements then any eſſentiall parts of the body: yet the divine Providence is extended to theſe.
2. Where haires grow, commonly many grow together: yet they are lforeign.all objects of Gods Providence.
3. Of all parts of mans body, the greateſt number of haires uſe to grow on the head, yet the very haires of your mforeign.head are ALL numbred.
4. The haires of the head are innumerable: yet by God are they all nforeign. Vbi numerus eſt, ſcientia numeri demonſtratur.numbred, to ſhew, that the eye of Gods Providence taketh particular notice of each and every of them.
5. He doth here make another particular application of this extent of the divine Providence to themſelves in ſpeciall, Hier. Comment. in hunc Ioc.in this relative particle, oforeign.your head.
§. 2. Of the Summe and Reſolution of the Text.
THe Summe of this Text is An incouragement againſt all that man can do.
Hereof are two parts
1. The ground
2. The kind
of incouragement.
1. The ground is taken from Gods Providence. And it is
1. Propounded, Verſ. 29, 30.
2. Applied, Verſ. 31.
Its propounded in two inſtances.
1. The leaſt of creatures in uſe.
2. The leaſt of things appertaining to man.
Hence two arguments of incouragement may be drawne from the leſſe, as the ſchooles ſpeake.A minori.
The firſt may be thus framed.
That God which hath his providence exerciſed on ſparrowes, hath it much more excerciſed on Saints.Si parva anima…i… & vilia, abſq Doo authore not decidunt: & in omnibus eſt prodentia, &c. Hier. Ibid.
But your God and Father hath his Providence exerciſed over ſparrowes.
Therefore your God and Father hath his Providence much more exerciſed over you.
The propoſition is thus proved.
That God which extendeth his Providence to things of ſmall value, doth much more extend it to you that are of more value.
But your God, &c.
Therefore your God, &c.
The ſecond argument taken from the leaſt of things appertaining to man, may be thus framed.
If God by his providence number all your haires, much more your dayes.
But the firſt is true.
Therefore the ſecond.
The Kind of encouragement is in this Inhibition. Feare ye not.
§. 3. Of the extent of Gods Providence.
THe Generall point which I inferre from all that hath Omnia Dei providentia & iuſtitia gubernantur. Hier. Comment l. 2. in Hierim. 9. Dominus omnia novit, omnia continet, omnia ſua maieſtate diſpenſat. Idem. Comment. l. 12 in Eſa. 41.beene ſaid is this.
The divine Providence extendeth it ſelfe to all things.
This Generall may well be inferred from the particulars in the text, as hath beene before noted.
It may further be proved by that induction of particulars tending to this purpoſe which God himſelfe bringeth in, Iob 38. & 39. & 40. & 41. As alſo by another induction which the Pſalmiſt bringeth in, Pſal. 104. And by that which Chriſt himſelfe mentioneth, Mat. 6. 26, 28 concerning Gods feeding of fowles, and decking of Iillies. Experience gives further evidence hereunto, in that many creatures ſeeke to deſtroy others, and yet none are utterly deſtroyed, but all preſerved. In the ſea the greater fiſh feed on the leſſe, yet are the leſſe exceedingly multiplied. In wilderneſſes beaſts are a prey one to another, yet the moſt ſilly of them (that are a prey to others) are ſtill continued. Thunders, lightnings, ſtormes, tempeſts, earth-quakes, froſts, droughts, inundations, and other like caſualties oft deſtroy much food which the earth bringeth forth for man and beaſt and are occaſions of many other evills: yet by the divine Providence ſufficient food is preſerved for all creatures, and all the foreſaid evils redreſſed. Naturall men are as wolves, tigres, devils one to another: yet by the divine Providence polities and ſocieties are preſerved.
As for things appertaining to Man, in this Text mention is made of haire, in other places it is noted of the very bMat. 5. 36.colour of haire, and the very cMat. 6. 27.ſtature of man is ordered by Gods Providence.
Seeing the divine Providence extends it ſelfe to ſuch things, what can be imagined whereunto it ſhould not extend?
§. 4. Of the ground of the extent of the divine Providence.
GOD thus extends his Providence to all things, that he may bring them to ſuch ends as himſelfe hath appointed. Which are in generall,
1. His owne glory.
2. His childrens good.
Gloria Dei ſedet in ſcientiae multitudine: & tunc manifeſtatur, quando cuncta rei providentia manifeſtantur: nec fortuito quid fieri, nec dicere quempiam Hier Comment. l 3 in Ezec 10. Ioſ. Hall. B. of Exet. in his Medit & Vows. Cent. 3. …. 15.Gods glory is the moſt principall and ſupreme end of all. At that he aimed in his eternall decree, Rom. 9. 23. And in giving the firſt being to his creatures, Prov. 16. 4. At that alſo he aimeth in all things that are done at any time in any place. In which reſpect it is ſaid, that the whole world is full of his glory, Iſa. 6. 3.
Ob. Many of the things here below, are ſo meane, and baſe, as they may ſeeme to impeach the divine Majeſty to be buſied about them.
Anſw. A reverend Father of our Church giveth this anſwer. There is not the least action or event, which is not overruled and diſpoſed by a Providence: which is ſo farre from detracting ought from the Majesty of God, for that the things are ſmall, as there can be no greater honour to him, then to extend his providence to them becauſe they are infinite. Yea, further the dPsal. 113. 5, 6.Pſalmiſt noteth it as a branch of Gods incomparable glory, to ſtoope ſo low as to order the things on earth.
But I would be enformed how it can impeach his glory who made all creatures, even the leaſt and meaneſt that be, to preſerve and governe them by his Providence. Who ſhall order them, if not he that made them?
As at the next (but ſubordinate) end, God in his Providence aimeth at his childrens good. In regard hereof, eRom. 8. 28.All things worke together for their good. Yea God by the hand of his Providence which he hath in all things, turneth the evill purpoſes and practices of men to the good of his children, Gen. 50. 20.
If God ſhould not at all meddle with the things here below, ſurely thoſe two fore-named ends, could not be ſo well accompliſhed.