Collection of Discourses, Part 11 · Subpart 9
9 OF GODS PROVIDENCE.
1. Not onelyonly the doctrine of the prophets and apoſtles, but alſo the teſtimonies of God ſhininge in nature doe proue, that the world is preſerued & gouerned by Gods prouidence. As the order which is ſeene in the principall partes of nature: the minde or ſoule governing the actions of men with her prouidence: the lawe of nature giuen to men that it might be vntounto them a rule of their life: rewardes and puniſhments: conſcience; the ordering of politique affaires: heroick motions & vertues: the fore-tellinges of future eventes: the ends whereunto things are ordained: and laſtely the verie nature of the moſt omnipotēt, wiſe, iuſt, and excellent God.
2. Gods prouidēce is the eternall counſell of God, moſt free and immutable, moſt wiſe & iuſt, according to which God bringeth to paſſe all good in all his creatures, & ſuffereth ſin to be committed: and directeth all both good and evill to his glory and the ſaluarion of the elect.
3. This purpoſe or counſell in God is not onlie a knowledge or ſcience in God, but alſo the forcible decree and will of God, wherby he hath determined from all eternitie both what he himſelfe will doe, & what he will hauehave become of his workes; & whatſoeuer he hath decreed, he alſo effecteth in fit time & order.
4. Good thinges are the ſubſtaunces of al things, the properties & faculties giuen vntounto thē by God al motions, mutatiōs, actiōs, & events of al things, as they are naturall motiōs, or obedience to Gods wil, or benefites and bleſſinges of God, or punniſhments of the evill.
5. That all theſe thinges are done by the powerfull will of God,That all things are done by th… … table providence of God. as manie moſt euident teſtimonies of ſcripture, ſo alſo theſe reaſons do confirme. 1 Becauſe of Gods omnipotencie nothing can be done in the worlde which God ſimplie wil not hauehave done. And therfore what ſoever is done, God muſt needes either ſimplie or in ſome ſorte be willing that it ſhould be done. 2 Becauſe a moſt wiſe governour, ſuch as God is, ſuffereth nothing of al that is in his power, to come to paſſe beſides his will and purpoſe. 3 Becauſe he which is willing the ends of thinges ſhould come to paſſe, is alſo willing either ſimplie or in ſorte, that all thinges and events by which we compaſſe thoſe ends ſhould come to paſſe. 4 Becauſe Gods purpoſes & decrees depend not on the actions of ſecōd cauſes. 5 Becauſe the immutable fore knowledge of God cannot be groūded but on an immutable cauſe, that is, gods wil & decree. 6 Becauſe God is the firſt cauſe of al naturall good things, amongſt which alſo are reckned the motiōs of each thing.
6 Wheras evill is of two ſorts, one of offence, the other of puniſhment, and that which is a puniſhment is an execution of iuſtice, & therfore good, it ought likewiſe to be referred vntounto Gods will, as the principall cauſe thereof.
7 But the evil of offence or ſin,Evill of puniſhment & offence. as it is a motion, or triall, or exerciſe, or chaſtiſement of the godly, or a puniſhmēt of the evil, ſo it is from Gods prouidēce effectiuely, that is, ſo that God is the author of it: but as it is ſin, not effectiuely, but permiſſiuely.
8. Now this permiſſion is not a ceaſinge of Gods prouidence and working in the actions of evill men, wherby it may come to paſſe that thoſe actions may ſeeme not to depend of any other cauſe then of the creatures which a… …gents: but a withdrawing of his heauenly grace, wherby God executinge the decree of his will by reaſonable creatures, eyther doth not reveale vntounto the creature his will, which will hauehave that action done, or ells boweth not the will of the creature to obey this diuine will in that action. Which ſo ſtanding, the creature ſinneth neceſſarilie in deed, but with all voluntarilie, and freely, & by Gods moſt iuſt iudgment, whiles God by it bringeth to paſſe the iuſt & good worke of his will & prouidence.
9. God therfore will hauehave thoſe actions & motions (which the Divells & men by ſinning doe effect) to come to paſſe, as they are motions and executions of Gods iuſt iudgment: but as they are ſins he neither willeth, nor appoueth, nor effecteth them: though he forbid, hate, & horiblie punniſh them, yet notwithſtanding in Divels & men …e ſuffereth them to concur with his iuſt actions, whileſt for verie good reaſons & moſt iuſt cauſes, he doth not effect in them by his ſpirit the performance of theſe actiōs iuſtely, that is, according to the preſcript of Gods will.
10 Neither is God therfore the author of confuſion, which is in the actions of the evill, for what they will & do inordinatlie, that is, againſt the cō maundemēt of God, that God will hauehave done in excellent & moſt wiſe order. Laſtly, euen ſinnes themſelues as they are ſins, be done by Gods providence, though not effecting, yet permitting, & preſcribing them boundes, & directing thē whither it pleaſeth him.
11 Neither is God by this doctrine made the author of ſin, becauſe the ſin of the ſinfull creature doth by accident concur with the good and iuſt worke of God, which he in his owne coūſel determineth, & by the ſinfull creature executeth. And therefore in reſpect of Gods will thoſe actiōs are iuſt and right, which in reſpect of the wicked by whom they be done are ſinnes.
12. And theſe things are manifeſt: firſt by the vniverſall nature, cauſes & effects being ſuch of thēſelues, & naturally or by accidēt. For whē the ſame effect hath many cauſes, ſome good & ſome badde, that ſame effect in reſpect of good cauſes is good, in regard of bad cauſes is bad: & good cauſes of thēſelues & naturally are the cauſes of good effects, but by accidēt of euil effects or ſins: which is foūd in the effect by ſome other euill or ſinful cauſe: & cōtrarywiſe, euil cauſes are of thē ſelues the cauſes of evil, but by accidēt they may be cauſes of that good whith is foūd in the effect.
13. Secondly the truth of theſe matters appeareth by the immutable nature of God the foūtaine and author of all good. For Gods wokes are equaly good, whether he effect thē by evil or good inſtruments, neither are they battered by good, or made worſe by evill inſtruments, ſeeing their iuſtice and goodnes dependeth not on the nature of the inſtruments, but of God which maketh vſe of the inſtruments: but on the other ſide the creatures can neither be nor continue good, nor do anie thing that is good, except God make them good, vphold thē in goodnes, & ſo governing thē that they may work that which is good with God who by thē worketh that good which he will.
14 Yet hereby we do not attribute vntounto God cō trary wils.Contrarie wils are not in God. For God wil & wil not the ſame actiōs in divers reſpectes. Hee will as they are conformable to his moſt iuſt iudgement and order: and he will not, but rather hateth and deteſteth, yet permitteth them to be done, as they are contrary to his order and law, againſt which they are committed by the wicked.
15 Neither doth the neceſsity of conſequence, which happeneth to the events by the immutable decree of Gods providence, take away that contingēce or caſuality which they hauehave frō the mutable nature of ſecond cauſes, or from the power & liberty of God, whereby he ſo decreed from al eternity; if we diſtinguiſh rightly betweene both, as that there is a reſpect betweene cauſes working immutablie or mutablie. For thereby euerie man may ſee, that the ſame effect proceeding frō …auſes partly mutable & partly immutable, may wel be called cōtingēt in reſpect of mutable cauſes, and neceſſary in reſpect of cauſes immutable.
16 Neither doth this immutable providence of God derogate ought from the vſe of teaching & our deſire of wel-doing,Providēce taketh no… away the vſe of meanes. as if theſe things were in vaine or to no purpoſe: for admitting a firſt cauſe it is not neceſſarie to denie the ſecond cauſes; nor the firſt, admitting the ſecōd. And God hath promiſed to ſaue vsus, not without, but by theſe means, and hath for this reaſon cōmanded vsus to vſe thē, expecting the good ſucceſſe of them from him.
17 But when God in ſcripture is denied to will the actions of Divels or ſinful men, that is to bee vnderſtood as they are ſins, or to that end wherevnto they are done by divels & mē: not as they are actions, or done vntounto that end which God in the order of providence reſpecteth. For actions are diſtinguiſhed by their endes.
18 The church thus perſwaded her ſelfe and teaching others of Gods providēce, doth vtterly cō demne & deteſt the furies & madnes of Epicures and Academiques, with the deviſes of all others, which wil hauehave gods providēce either to be none at al, or not to extēd vntounto all things in the world, or els to be only a certain kinde of fore-knowledg in God not any decree and execution.
19 As much it condemneth the blaſphemies and errours of the Manichees, Stoickes, Libertines and others, which make GOD the authour of ſinne, or take from him his libertye whereby from all eternitie hee made his decrees, or elſe aboliſh the operations and vſe, or differences of ſecond cauſes, working either neceſſarily, or contingently, or voluntarily & freely.
20 This doctrine is to be retained in the Church for Gods glory,The vſe of this doctrin of providence. that ſo it may appeare that God is the governour of all things, yet not the author of ſinne, but the moſt free and excellent effector & giver of all good things. It is alſo ſo neceſſarie for our inſtruction and comfort, that we may become thankefull vntounto God, as being the well ſpring of all goodnes: and patiently ſuffer evils, as happening vntounto vsus by his will, perſwading our ſelues that all things ſhal ſerue for our ſalvation: that acknowledging God to bee the author of puniſhments we might amende, & not deſpaire of Gods helpe, though we be left deſtitute by ſecond cauſes: that we truſt not in our ſelues, but in feare of God aske all good things of him: that wee may know that God taketh eſpecial care of his church: that we iudge not raſhly of the works & counſels of God: that we contemne not others, becauſe God of his free boūty hath beſtowed better giftes vponupon vsus: that in all things wee follow the will and order preſcribed vntounto vsus by God.