The Eye and Wheel of Providence, Chapter 24

The Eye and Wheel of Providence · Chapter 24

CHAP. XXIV.

Sect. 1. Of the special Providence of God toward the godly in afflicting them. An Objection anſwered. God's ends in afflicting them.

I Shall now treat of the ſpecial Providence of God toward the godly, and alſo ſhew how it reacheth the wicked: Firſt,

Toward the Godly.

1. In afflicting them; he is ſaid in Scripture to ſend affliction to his people; all afflictions, [either inward] as paſſions of the mind, grief of heart, and ſorrow of ſpirit; [or outward] as diſeaſes, ſickneſſes, pains of the body, come from God, and are inflicted by him. David confeſſeth, Pſal. 32.4. ſaying, That Gods hand lay heavy upon him day and night. Yea God himſelf tells us as much, Iſa. 45.7. I form the light, and create darkneſs, I make peace, and create evil, that is, the evil of puniſhment: Shall there be evil in a City, and the Lord hath not p. 188done it? Amos 3.6. Affliction ſpringeth not out of the duſt, neither doth trouble ſpring out of the ground, ſaith Eliphaz, Job 5.6. This form of ſpeaking is proverbial,Proverbialis quaedam ſententia eſt qua tollat eaſum aſſeratque divinam erga res humanas & impiorum ſupplicium providentiam. Pineda ad loc. as the Learned note, and frequently uſed in thoſe times when they would remove Chance or Fortune (as men commonly ſay) or deny any event to be without a certain directive power, they ſpake in this language; This ſprang not out of the duſt, nor came from the ground. We muſt not therefore ſtay upon the ſecond cauſes, as the common corrupt cuſtom of the world is, blaming themſelves for over-ſight, and want of good heed taking, and in other caſes blaming the falſneſſe of friends, and want of ſeaſonable ſupplies, and ſometimes crying out of the unſeaſonableneſſe of the weather, and times cauſing infection in the air, and putrifying the bloud, &c. But as Cratippus was wont to ſay,Fata per cauſas agunt, & populi peccata evertunt imperia. Cratippus. That the deſtinies do act by cauſes, and Empires are overthrown by the ſins of the people: So it's not the influences of the Heavens, nor the poſitions of the Stars, nor the unſeaſonableneſſe p. 189of the weather, or the like, that be the cauſes of ſore diſeaſes at any time among us; but the juſt hand of God that puniſheth our ſtrange ſinnes with ſtrange ſickneſſes.

Theſe have their places it cannot be denied, but there's an hand that over-rules them, whereat we muſt look, and which we muſt confeſſe and acknowledge: Elſe ſhall we be like thoſe of whom God complaineth by his Prophets, Iſa. 1.5. Iſa. 9.13. Jer. 5.3. This is as if one that were wounded ſhould fret and chafe at the ſpear, dart, ſword, bullet, or arrow that hit and hurt him, but never to regard the ſtriker, nor yet apply any medicine to the hurt-place; this muſt needs be extream folly. Thus did not David accuſe Shimei for railing upon him, but acknowledgeth the hand of God ſtirring him up, and ſetting him a work, 2 Sam. 16.11. and holy Job knew as much; therefore he doth not cry out upon the Sabeans for taking away his Oxen and Aſſes, nor blame the Chaldeans for carrying away his Camels; no, nor the Devil p. 190himſelf for raiſing the winds, and hurling down the houſe upon his children, but he confeſſeth the juſt hand of God in it all. The Lord hath given, the Lord hath taken, Job 1.21. And ſo in all afflictions we ſhould do, as Nazianzen tells us he did,A te Domine percuſſus, ad te reſpicio. Nazianz. viz. go to God, and ſay to him, Lord, I am ſmitten of thee, and to thee doe I look, And ſo the Prophet calls upon us, Come let us return to the Lord, for he hath torn, and he will heal us, he hath ſmitten, and he will bind us up, Hoſ. 6.1.

Object. But ſome body perhaps may ſay, Is it not very ſtrange that we ſhould therefore come to God, becauſe he hath ſmitten and afflicted us? Doth not Reaſon teach reaſonable creatures, and even Nature it ſelf all creatures to ſeek their preſervation, and avoid all things that may any way tend to their deſtruction, as tearing and ſmiting may ſeem to do? When Adam perceived that God was angry with him, he ran away, and hid himſelf among the buſhes, Geneſ. 3. and we may obſerve, that even horſes, dogs, and other unreaſonable creatures are eaſily brought to come to ſuch as feed them and make much of them, but they will p. 191flie and runne away from ſuch as beat them: therefore it may ſeem that afflictions ſhould rather drive us from God, than draw us to him.

Resp. 1. I cannot deny, but muſt grant theſe things to be thus in Nature and Reaſon; and therefore we muſt alſo know, that the Prophet here being endued with Gods Spirit, ſpeaketh Metaphyſicè, above the reach of natural reaſon; for theſe things come not to paſſe, Vi tribulationis, by the force of afflictions, which have no power in their own nature, but virtute tribulantis, by the ſtrength of him that afflicteth, who maketh afflictions thus powerfull by his grace, and who being infinite in power can produce contrary effects by contrary cauſes, as he brought light out of darkneſſe, Geneſ. 1.3. Water out of a flinty rock, Exod. 17.6. Wiſdom out of fooliſhneſſe, 1 Cor. 1. Yea life out of death: for out of Chriſts death came our ſpiritual, yea eternal life; for by his bloud he ſaveth his children from ſpiritual and eternal death; as the old Pelican by his bloud ſaveth her young from natural death.

p. 1922. Or we may anſwer, that howbeit the Argument be not good in ſenſu diviſo, yet it is in ſenſu compoſito, taking all together. As therefore men go not to the Phyſician, or take not phyſick to make them ſick, and yet are content by his direction to take phyſick, though it doth make them ſick for the time preſent, to the end they may recover, and be the more healthy for the time to come: ſo the Prophet perſwadeth not the people to come and return to him, barely becauſe he had torn and broken them, ſo likewiſe he would heal and bind them up again. In a word! he wills them to conſider and look upon God, not as an angry Judge, puniſhing them in his juſtice and diſpleaſure for their deſtruction, but as a loving Father, correcting and chaſtening them in his mercy, for their amendment and their profit. For

1. Afflictions to the godly are an eyeſalve, to make them ſee and acknowledge their ſins, as to Joſephs Brethren, Gen. 42.21. Tribulation enlargeth the underſtanding, making p. 193men to ſee into themſelves. Proſperity ſo blindeth men that they cannot know their own eſtate. A man under the croſs doth better underſtand the frailty of his body, the uncertainty of his life, and doth evidently perceive his manifold infirmities; he learneth what little progreſs he hath made in the wayes of godlineſs; he knoweth his intereſt in God; he knoweth the ſtrength of his faith, and is not ignorant of Satans devices; he ſeeth Gods infinite power, by which he is able in our extream neceſſities to give relief and comfort; he ſeeth the unalterable truth of God, whereby he performeth all his promiſes and threatnings; hereby he ſeeth the unmeaſurable goodneſs of God, by which he ſuffereth us not to be over-whelmed with all miſeries at once; hereby alſo we ſee the wonderfull providence of God, by which he governeth all things, converting all our ſufferings into inſtruments of our ſalvation; therefore, ſaith one,Didac. ſtella de contempt. mundi. c. 31. doth God give to thee tribulation, that thou maiſt know him, ſince when thou prospereſt, thou p. 194art not willing to be acquainted with him. A medicine for the eyes firſt ſmarteth, and paineth the eye till it water, but after that it maketh the eye more clear, and the ſight more piercing: ſo all afflictions at the firſt are bitter and grievous to a man, but then afterward they clear a mans judgement, and thenceforth he is more wiſe and wary: tribulation bringeth a man to experience, and experience makes a man more wiſe. The rod and correction give underſtanding, Eccluſ. 34.19.Sir 34:19ſaith the ſon of Syrach.

2. Sometime afflictions are as bridles to reſtrain Gods people, and keep them within compaſs: Before I was afflicted I went aſtray, ſaith David, Pſal. 119.67. but now I have kept thy Word. Caelius Rhodig. Hiſtor. Natura. l. 4.Caelius Rhodiginus in his Naturall Hiſtory, reporteth of Polemus, that was a Schoolmaſter in Aegypt, that he was a man of that light conſtitution, that when he went abroad, he was fain to hang plummets to his legs, for fear leſt the wind would blow him away: row it pleaſeth God many times to clap upon the legs of his ſervants, the p. 195plummets and heavy weights of afflictions, that they may not be ſwallowed up, and blown away with proſperity.

3. They teach us Gods ſtatutes, Pſal. 119.71. foreign, Gods corrections are mans inſtructions; they breed the fear and love of God, not only in thoſe that ſuffer them, but alſo in others. Seeing therefore no affliction cometh by chance, but is ſent by God, therefore we muſt bear them patiently, and undergo them without repining: thus did old Eli, 1 Sam. 3.18. It's the Lord let him do what ſeemeth him good: ſo David tells us, that this conſideration lockt up his lips, and tyed up his tongue, Pſal. 39.9. I was dumb, and opened not my mouth, becauſe thou didſt it: Item 2 Sam. 15.26. If the Lord ſay, I have no delight in thee, behold here I am, let him do to me as ſeemeth good unto him: So Ezekiah, Iſa. 38.15. and 39.8. Yea this very thing gave comfort to our Saviour Chriſt, Job. 18.11. where he perſwadeth Peter to patience, and keeping of the peace, bidding him put up, and make no p. 196more ado; for, ſaith he, the Cup which my Father hath given me, ſhall I not drink it? Thus like good children, we muſt be content to kiſs the rod, and the hand that hath ſcourged us, conſidering that it is not the hand of a deſtroying enemy,Non manus hoſtis perimentis, ſed patris corrigentis. but of a correcting Father, and that though afflictions be ſharp arrows, yet they be ſhot by a gentle hand.

Sect. 2. Of Gods providence in preſerving his people in afflictions.

2. GOds providence is further ſeen, not only in afflicting the godly, but alſo in preſerving them in afflictions: Thou art my hiding place, ſaith David, thou ſhalt preſerve me from trouble, Pſal. 32.7. he alludeth to ſuch creatures as are purſued,The Church is Gods Ship which may be toſſed with waves, but never drowned; it is like the Buſh, Exod. 3. ever burning, but never conſumed. Admirable was Gods providence to the Infant King Michridates, involved in lightning flaſhes, ſl…eping in his cradle, the flames conſuming his clothes, not touching his body at all. Cauſ. holy Court. part 1.Exod 3 and ſeek ſhelter and ſuccour, as the Lion and Bear in their dens, the Foxes in their holes, the Conies in their burrows, Chickens under the wings of their dams, Doves to the holes of the rock; yea God is a ſurer refuge and rock of defence, and ſafer ſhelter than any of theſe; p. 197for they may be fet and ferreted out; or a Ship in the Haven may either be taken by another that may follow her or be fired, or the like, but they that are under Gods protecting providence, cannot be pulled from him, Joh. 10.28, 29. his ſuccour is a better ſhelter than a Caſtle, walled City, or Town of warre. Thus David prayes for protection, to be hid and covered under Gods wings, as under a ſhield, target or buckler, Pſal. 17.8, 9. or as Birds defend their young ones, both againſt the injury of the air, and their enemies, under their wings. Now we may aſſure our ſelves, the Prophets prayer had ground from Gods promiſe, Pſal. 91.3, 4. and Pſal. 119.114. Thou art my hiding place, and my ſhield, I hope in thy Word. I have read of a Gentleman, that being on a time in bed in an Inne, and one that had been his ſervant lodging near unto him, and coming at midnight to have murthered him, the Maſter was dreaming at that inſtant, that the bed whereon he lay was all on fire, whereat ſtarting up, and crying to God for help, the murtherer p. 198was ſo affrighted,In the Earthquake of Apulia, that hapned July 1627, when ten thouſand perſons were taken out of the world in the City of S. Severia, it is wonderfull that a great Bell fell ſo fitly over a child, that it encloſed him, doing no hurt, made a bulwark for him againſt any other danger. that he deſiſted from his purpoſe, craved pardon for the attempt, and preſently revealed to him who they were that ſet him on work. When the poor Iſraelites are encompaſſed with the Sea, the mountains, and their enemies, they have Gods promiſe of protection: ſo when Athaliah ſlew all the males of the bloud-royall, the Lord preſerveth Joaſh, 2 Chron. 22.11. to make good his promiſe to David, 1 Sam. 7.12. and 1 King. 2.4. 2 Chron. 23.3. This admoniſheth and ſheweth us whereto take ſhelter in troubleſome times, viz. under the covering of Gods wings, and then we may ſay that Gods protection and aſſiſtance is the ſafeſt rock of refuge; this is a ſurer ſhelter than either woods or caves, or holes or dens under ground, 1 Sam. 22.15. 1 Sam. 23.5, 6, 11, 12, 13, 14. As men in a ſtorm repair to a tree or houſe, and beaſts and fowls purſued, to their holes, ſo muſt we in time of affliction fly to God, who is a preſent and ſtrong refuge in time of trouble, Pſal. 46.1. therefore howbeit the p. 199godly be not exempted from trouble, yet they are often protected and preſerved in trouble, as Noah in the Ark, and the three children in a fiery furnace. Put not your truſt in Princes, ſaith David, nor in the ſon of man, in whom there is no help, Pſal. 146.3. S^t Auſtin hath an excellent ſpeech to the ſame purpoſe;Tanta tamen hujus ſeculi incerta ſunt, & ita potentum ruinae quoridianae crebreſcunt: ut cum ad tale refugium confugeris, plus ibi timere incipias. Aug. in Pſal. 45.Ps 45 Some places of refuge there are, ſaith he, whereunto if a man fly, he is in worſe caſe than he was before: as for inſtance, Thou retaineſt to ſome great man in the world, thereby to make him thy friend, and thou ſuppoſeſt thy ſelf ſecure, and yet for all that there are ſuch uncertainties in the world, and the falls of great men are ſo common, that when thou haſt gotten thee ſuch a refuge, thou haſt a great deal more cauſe to fear than thou hadſt before: but they are not only ſecure but bleſſed, that put their truſt in God, Pſal. 2. ult.

p. 200Sect. 3. Of Gods delivering his people out of afflictions; of the divers wayes God uſeth in their deliverance; and how they are more than conquerours in afflictions, ſhewed in five things.

When Godfrey of Bovillon beſieged Jeruſalem, the Sultan having taught Pigeons to carry meſſages, diſpatched one of them with a letter which ſhe bare under her wings, to give advice to the beſieged, but by providence a Hawk ſeizing on her over the Christian army, took her, and made her to let fall what ſhe carried to inform ours of the enemies deſigns. Paul. Aemil. l. 4.NOw as God doth by his providence preſerve his people in afflictions, ſo he doth deliver them out of afflictions: Thou haſt enlarged me, or ſet me at liberty, when I was in diſtreſſe, ſaith David, Pſal. 4.1. He ſhall pluck my feet out of the net, ſaith he, Pſal. 25.14. Our ſoul is eſcaped as a bird out of the ſnare of the fowlers, the ſnare is broken, and we are eſcaped, Pſal. 124.7. Many are the troubles of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all, Pſal. 34.19. As God is the authour of afflictions, ſo he is the moderatour and remover of them, He caſteth down, and he comforteth, 1 Sam. 2.6, 7. After two dayes, ſaith the Prophet, he will revive us, and the third day he will raiſe us up, and we ſhall live in his ſight, Hoſ. 6.1, 2. Though God afflict and correct his children for a time, yet he will find p. 201a time likewiſe to comfort and deliver them. Thoſe words of the Prophet are by divers diverſly expounded.

1.The opinion of the Jewiſh Rabbines. Some of the Jewes by the firſt day underſtand the time that the old Iſraelites their fathers were in bondage in Aegypt, whereof we may read at large in the eleven firſt Chapters of Exodus, and by the ſecond day their captivity in Babylon and Aſſyria, the one whereof, viz. the carrying of Iſrael into Aſſyria hapned in the ninth year of Hoſhea ſonne of Elah King of Iſrael, who is taken with his people and carried away by Salmaneſar, 2 Kings 17.6. The other in the eleventh year of Zedekiah King of Judah, who likewiſe was taken, and carried away with his people by Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon, 2 King. 25. in which captivities the poor people ſeemed deſtitute and deſolate like dead men, buried, and quite forgotten; but the third day ſay they, the Meſſiah ſhall deliver them, and reſtore them to their former or greater glory: But we Chriſtians know, p. 202that though Chriſt were a King, yet his Kingdome was not of this world, as he told Pilate, Joh. 18.36. and that the deliverances he beſtoweth on his people are not temporal for the moſt part. This Jewiſh conceit therefore is more ſubtil than ſound, more witty than weighty.

2. Others by the firſt day underſtand the time after the building of Solomon's Temple, during which they often ſuſtained many troubles, being ſometime beſieged by their enemies by forreign wars, and ſometime falling ſoul among themſelves by civil differences and diſſentions, and at laſt they are carried captive in Babylon. By the ſecond day they underſtand the time of their return from Babylon by commiſſion from King Cyrus under the conduct of Zerubbabel, Ezra 1. and after the building of their ſecond Temple, during which time they endured many hot aſſaults and bitter battails, and at laſt have their City taken, and Temple utterly ruinated and deſtroyed by the Romans: And by the third day they underſtand the deliverance that the p. 203Meſſiah ſhould beſtow upon them, which if they would expound of a ſpiritual deliverance of all the faithfull among them from the ſervice of ſin and Satan, we would go with them; but becauſe they dream or rather dote of a temporal deliverance which ſhall never be, leaving God's word we muſt leave them.

3. Others by theſe two dayes underſtand a ſhort time,Brevi redinte grabit nos. Tremel. ad loc a certain time being put for an uncertain: So David tells us, His anger endureth but for a moment, but in his favour is life; weeping or heavineſſe may endure for a night, but joy will come in the morning, Pſal. 30.5.

4. Moſt of the Ancients make it a plain Prophecy and Prediction of Chriſt's Paſſion and Reſurrection, or of his two-fold Eſtates, viz. of Humiliation on Earth, and Glorification in Heaven,Doroth. Epiſco. Tyr. in vit. Oſ…. Prophet. as Dorotheus an old Biſhop of Tyrus, who lived in the dayes of Conſtantine the Great, in his Epitome of the Life and Death of this Prophet tells us. So likewiſe Bernard applieth this place of this Prophet to Chriſt and his members, p. 204affirming, That as he had, ſo they muſt have their three ſeveral dayes.

Bern. Serm. in Reſur. Chriſt.1. The firſt was, Dies crucis in mundo, the day of his Croſſe in the world.

2. The ſecond, Dies quietis in Sepulchro, his reſting day in the grave.

3. The third, Dies Gloriae in Coelo, the day of his Glory in Heaven.

Or, to put the two dayes together, as the Prophet doth, the two dayes or whole time of his life was a Tragedy of trouble; then the third day he reſted in peace for a little ſpace, and then roſe to eternal glory. Thus divers of our Modern Writers affirm theſe things to belong to Chriſt,Luther. & Zanch. ad loc. Praecipuè & principalitèr, chiefly and principally, becauſe they had in him perfectum complementum: and yet they may be referred to all Chriſtians, becauſe they likewiſe be verified of them; who ſhall have their two days of trouble here in this life, as Matth. 16.24. Luke 9.23. Acts 14.22. 2 Tim. 3.12. Heb. 12.6. Then a time of eaſe p. 205and reſt at the end of the ſecond day, when death cometh, Revel. 14.13. and a joyfull reſurrection to eternal glory the third day, viz. at the end of the world, when the Saints ſhall be delivered from all their troubles: But the deliverances God vouchſafeth to his Saints in this life are divers.

1. Sometime he delivereth them immediately by his own powerfull hand and ſtretched out arm, without either Angel or man, as he delivered Iſrael from Pharaoh and his hoſt. M^r Foxe tells us of one George Crow, Fox. Act. and Monum. p. 1805.who being in danger at Sea, caſt out whatſoever he had, reſerving his Teſtament, with which he was taken up and miraculouſly ſaved; thus God preſerved Paul from receiving any harm by the Viper that faſtened upon his hand in the Iſle Melita or Malta, which he ſhook off into the fire, to the amazement of the barbarous inhabitants, who looked when he ſhould ſuddenly ſwell & fall down dead, Acts 28.5. Calvin obſerveth,Calvin. in Act. 28.Acts 28 that this Viper came not by chance upon Paul's hand, but was directed by a p. 206ſecret Divine Providence, to innoble Paul as a Prophet of God upon the Land, as before upon the Sea, that his own company might be the more moved, and there might be an occaſion given for the Goſpel to ſhine even among theſe Barbarians upon whom the ſight of this miracle had a great influence: for when they ſaw the Viper hang on Paul's hand, they ſaid among themſelves, No doubt, this man is a murtherer, whom though he hath eſcaped the Sea, yet vengeance ſuffereth not to live. The word tranſlated [vengeance] is foreign,Mayer. ad loc. Heſiod ſaith foreign was the daughter of Jupiter and Themis, others of Aſtreas and Aurora. Heſiod. in Ergis. Orpheis made two Hymns to the honour of Dichis and Dicai a ſonne, and offered Frankincenſe; the Aſtrologers, and eſpecially Aratus deſcribe her to be a Virgin placed in Heaven with a ſhining ſpear, and call her Aſtrea. Aratus in Phoenomo. whereby they underſtood a certain Goddeſſe whom they called by this name; whereas they condemned Paul by this event, it appeareth to be ingraffed in nature, that notorious wicked men are ſubject to divine vengeance, though they eſcape for a time. They feigned that revenge ſate upon Jupiter's Throne, which they called foreign.

p. 2072. Sometime he delivereth them by the means of Angels or men, or other helps, as he delivered Hezekiah from Sennacheribs Army by an Angel, 2 Reg. 19. So he ſent an Angel to ſhut the mouths of the Lions that they might not devour Daniel in their Den, Dan. 6.22. So an Angel delivered Peter out of Herods priſon, Acts 12.7. or if he afford us not the aid of Angels, then men like unto our ſelves ſhall ſerve our turns: Thus he moved Ebedmelech the Ethiopian to ſave the Prophet Jeremiah from ſtarving, or being choaked,Jer. 38.Jer 38 or poiſoned in the dungeon; and Pharaohs daughter to pity Moſes, and ſave him from drowning. Thus he taught Noah to make an Ark to ſave himſelf and his Family. Thus he provided boords, planks and broken pieces of the ſhip ſufficient to carry Paul and his company to ſhore, Acts 27.

3. Sometime God delivereth his people openly and viſibly, that all the world may take notice of it, as he dealt with the three children, Dan. 3. and Daniel himſelf, Dan. 6. Sometime p. 208ſecretly, ſpiritually, and inviſibly, as with ſuch Martyrs, whom though he ſuffer outwardly to periſh, and be food for the ſword, yet inwardly he preſerveth them; ſo that though they be ſlain, yet they periſh not, but are crowned in ſecret,In occulto coronari. Auguſt. Chriſti milites caedi poſſunt vinci nequeunt. as Auſtin ſpeaketh, verifying the ſaying of the Ancients; Chriſts ſouldiers may be killed, but cannot be overcome; ſo that they may ſay with the Apoſtle, This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith, 1 John 5.4. Or if we ſpeak of the whole Church and body of believers, than Michael and his Angels do ever overcome the Dragon and his company; yea the Apoſtle ſaith, That in all tribulations and afflictions they are more than conquerors, Rom. 8.37. For

1. The bare Conquerour before the victory is in great danger, full of fears and doubts concerning the iſſue of the battell, but Gods children before the victory are fortified with ſweet and ſtrong conſolations of the Spirit,2 Cor. 1.5.2 Cor 1:5 whereby they are aſſured of the victory, and enabled to overcome all oppoſitions.

p. 2092. Sole victors do ſometime loſe more at a battel, then they gain by a conqueſt: but the victorious Chriſtian wins a thouſand times more than he can loſe in the fight,2 Cor. 4.17, 182 Cor 4:172 Cor 4:18 he ſometimes loſeth temporals, but always gaineth eternals, Rev. 21.7.

3. Conquerours being wounded in the battel ſurvive not often to ride in triumph, and enjoy the benefit of their victory; but theſe after the end of their fight do wear a triumphant crown of glory.

4. The Saints do more than conquer, in that while they ſuffer bodily, they triumph ſpiritually; and others are converted and overcome by them, while they ſeem to be overcome by others;Sanguis martyrum ſemen Eccleſiae. The bloud of the Martyrs being the ſeed of the Church; their patience is invincible; yea while they are overcome of perſecutours and cruel enemies,Nobile vincendi genus eſt patientia, vincit Qui patitur ſi vis vincere diſce pati. Seneca. they overcome greater enemies, viz. by denying their own paſſions. The more they ſuffer, the greater conquerours they are, as the Martyrs were moſt victorious, whoſe triumphing faith made them flammis ipſis illuſtricres, p. 210brighter than thoſe flames that burnt their bodies to aſhes.

5. The Saints do overcome over and above, in that they conquer by a kind of eaſe; when others uſe their wits and weapons, perplex themſelves, and are often at their wits end, turning every ſtone to help themſelves, the Saints win Heaven, vanquiſh their enemies, and ſtanding ſtill, behold the ſalvation of God.

Sect. 4. Of Gods Providence in bringing about the Salvation of his People.

THe Apoſtle tells us, That all things worke together for good to them that love God; Rom. 8.28.Rom 8:28not diviſim, but conjunctim, becauſe God worketh in all things, and over-ruleth all things in all their working: There are many ſtrange acts of God's Providence in promoting the work of his people's ſalvation. As Rahab keeping a victualing houſe, received thoſe two Spies into her houſe, whereby ſhe was preſerved when Jericho was deſtroyed, p. 211and was afterward received into the Church, and married to Salmon one of the Princes of the Tribe of Judah, of whom came David and Chriſt according to the fleſh. How admirable was God's Providence toward Ruth the Moabiteſs? Ruth 2.12.Ruth 2:12when her husband was dead, ſhe putteth her ſelf under the wing of the God of Iſrael. How wonderfully did God's Providence work for the ſalvation of the Gaoler, when he ſent him two ſuch priſoners as Paul and Silas, to ſhake the priſon with an earthquake, and cauſe the doors to flie open, and every ones bands to be looſed, and then ſtrike his heart with fear upon the apprehenſion of their eſcape, and immediately to throw himſelf down at their feet, crying out unto them, Sirs, What muſt I do to be ſaved?

If the people of God conſult their own experiences, they will ſee Gods Providence admirable to them in this regard: If they conſider the means of grace to them, or them to the means, publick or private, how God brought them to live in ſuch a place, planted them under ſuch a Miniſter; p. 212how the Lord hath come in upon upon their ſpirits in the uſe of means, how God brought to their minds ſome notable paſſages of Scripture, which the Spirit of God ſet on with power upon their hearts; how God hath ordered ſome ſudden accidents befalling others, to work much good upon them.Flac. Illir. Cat. Teſt. verit. 2 Cor. 1.6.2 Cor 1:6 (Thus Waldo was ſtartled by ſeeing a man falling down dead before him, which accident made him ſtudy the Scriptures, by which he was converted.) How both the afflictions and comforts of other of Gods children are for their conſolation and ſalvation: How God hath ordered croſſes and afflictions to them with which he hath frequently viſited them: How he hath carried them thorow temptations; what ſlips and infirmities he hath paſt by, how their very falls and temptations have been an occaſion of their better eſtabliſhment, and a cauſe of diſcovery of more clear light unto them, bringing them nearer to God, into a more cloſe communion with him, making him more humble and poor in ſpirit, to ſtrive to cleave more p. 213ſtrongly to God, and to take more ample content and ſatisfaction in him. Did they ſeriouſly obſerve by what ſteps and gradations God hath carried on his work with them, they may find much matter of admiration. If the Lord's wayes were not above ours, as the Heavens are above the Earth, how were it poſſible that poor ſouls could get over ſo many ſtumbling blocks and ſnares that they meet with in the way of their ſalvation, were it not for the ſafe conduct of his wiſe providence, whoſe name is Wonderfull, Councellour, they would ſtumble and fall, and never riſe again. There are many wonders of God in the work of creating and governing the world, which are very obſervable; but theſe high Acts of Divine Providence in bringing his ſons and daughters to ſalvation and glory, do far ſurmount them all. If there were a Hiſtory of all Gods various workings of Providence compiled; and if all the methods and experiences of the faithfull were called for, touching Gods diſpenſations toward them, and his p. 214dealing with them, they would amaze the Reader thereof, and no Hiſtory in the world would be found comparable unto it.

What wonderfull alterations hath God made in theſe later times in many Kingdoms and Commonwealths? What mighty Cedars hath he thrown down to make way for the paſſage of the Goſpel, and to further the welfare of Zion, adding them to the Church that are elected to eternal ſalvation? How doth God over-rule all Tyrants and Torments that none ſhall infringe their title to that incorruptible and undefiled Inheritance reſerved in Heaven for them? God never manifeſted ſuch a wonderfull Providence, as he did in ſending his Son into the world in the dayes of Herod the King; when Iſrael the people of God were the vaſſals of the Roman Empire, ſervants to Herod, who was a ſervant to Auguſtus the Roman Emperour: I ſay, to Herod an Edomite, whom God had ordained to be a ſervant to Jacob. God never did ſuch a glorious work for the ſalvation of his people in the dayes of p. 215Solomon, when the Jews were in the height of their glory, as now he did in the dayes of Herod, when they were in their baſeſt ſervitude. It is true, Earth-worms do only mind earthly things, as if the outward ſtate of a Kingdome or Commonwealth were the only thing to be lookt at; but the Lord of Heaven and Earth, who hath all things in his hand, eſteemeth it but as a poor low thing to this, viz. the bringing about the ſalvation of his people.