Practical Discourses Volume 1, Discourse 6
LUKE XXII. 42.
Nevertheless, not my Will, but thine be done.
THESE Words are a Part of our Saviour's Prayer in his Agony; in which his Soul being at present under a mighty Contest with the Powers of Darkness, and under a vigorous Apprehension of his approaching Passion on the Cross, expresses an earnest, but yet natural and innocent Desire of Deliverance; Father, if thou be willing, saith he, remove this Cup from me. For his Humanity being now in a great measure deprived of the Supports and comfortable Influence of his Divinity, and left alone to grapple by its own single Strength, with the powerful Malice of Men and Devils, and being under a piercing Sense of those mighty Evils they intended against him, began to recoil and shrink, out of a natural desire to preserve it self; but yet this natural desire being perfectly under the Government of his Reason, and that as perfectly under the Government of God, He does to this Effect address himself to God, Father, if it be thy Will, remove this Cup away from me. I do not desire in the least to controul or cross thy blessed Will in any thing, no, rather than thou shouldst suffer the least Disappointment in thy blessed Intentions, I am ready to undergo the utmost that the Malice of Men and Devils can inflict upon me; but alas! the Evils that I feel and fear are so exceeding grievous unto Flesh and Blood, that if it might be without Contradiction to thy Will, or Prejudice to thy gracious Intentions to a sinful World, I cannot but earnestly desire that they might be removed from me. But if there be any the least Competition between thy Designs and my Desires, so that they do not fairly agree, and perfectly consist with one another, whatsoever I endure, not my Will, but thine be done.
Behold here a most perfect Pattern of Submission to the Will of God, and that under the most dismal and difficult Circumstances. When he plainly saw it was the Will of his Father to expose him to the utmost Extremity of humane Misery, to object his naked Breast to the utmost Malice of Men and Devils; when, by the Force of a most powerful Instinct, his Nature recoiled at the Apprehension of it, and would fain have been excused; then did he supplicate on his bended Knees, that his Father would not listen to the innocent Language of his natural Fears and Desires, but that he would fully execute his own severe and terrible Will upon him; not my Will, O Father, i. e. not the Will of my natural Fear and Desire of Self-preservation, but thy Will be done; though it be to inflict on me the utmost Misery that a poor Innocent, as I am, can be exposed to. The Words being thus explained, do naturally resolve themselves into this Proposition,
That God's Choices for us, are much better than our own, and consequently, that if it were in our Power to determine which of the Two should take Effect, it would be very unreasonable not to choose what God hath chose for us.
The Truth of which will evidently appear if we consider these Two Things:
1. That God doth as really and heartily will what is Good for us, as we do for our selves.
2. That he knows much better what is Good for us than we.
1. That God doth as really and heartily will what is Good for us, as we do for our selves; i. e. So long as we are proper Objects of his good Will, and have not sinned our selves into an utter Incapacity of being beloved by him; for then the Case quite alters, and that good Will which he formerly bore us, converts into a severe Resolution of making us dreadful Examples to others, that so when through our own Obstinacy and Incorrigibleness he can do no more good upon us, he may do good to others by us, and warn them not to imitate our Actions by the fearful Example of our Sufferings. But so long as there is any Hope of doing good upon us, he declares himself as heartily inclined to do good to us, as ever any Man was to do good to himself; for what mighty Designs hath he set on foot? what expensive Methods hath he used to save us? in what passionate Strains hath he expressed his good Will towards us, and with what restless Importunity doth he court us to be happy? He swears by his own Life, that he desires not our Ruine, but rather that we should return and live, and solemnly professes, that he would have all men to be saved, and to come to the Knowledge of the Truth. And when with all his Courtships and Addresses he cannot prevail upon our Obstinacy, to disswade us from ruining our selves, he puts on the Passions of a mournful Friend, and with yearning Bowels laments our fatal Folly; by all which tender Expressions he plainly declares, that he doth as heartily will our Welfare as we can do our own. But because a firm Belief of this Principle is indispensibly necessary to a free Submission to his heavenly Will, I shall endeavour briefly to demonstrate the Truth of it from these Four Considerations.
1. That his Interest in us is much greater than ours in our selves.
2. That his own Self-love doth as strongly incline him to will our Good, as ours doth to will our own.
3. That in concerning himself about us, he can have no other End to serve, than what we have in being concern'd for our selves.
4. That even that good Will that we bear to our selves, is only a Derivation from, and Participation of that infinite good Will which he bears us.
1. That his Interest in us is much greater than ours in our selves. If we believe him to be the Author of our Beings, we must acknowledge him to have a most absolute and unalienable Propriety in us; that what we are, as well as what we have, we hold from him who is the Head-Landlord and Supream Proprietor of all those Beings that are derived from him, even as Brooks and Rivulets owe all their Streams to the Fountain from whence they flow. And can we imagin him not to be greatly concern'd for what he hath so great an Interest in? or that he who hath so much greater Propriety in us, should have less Regard for us than we have for our selves? Can it be thought that the great Father of Beings, should be forgetful of his own Off-spring? that he who hath imprinted on all other Parents such a tender Kindness toward their natural Issue, should be so regardless of his own, as to expose them to a wide Wilderness, and leave them there to shift for themselves? no, doubtless the mighty Interest he hath in us cannot but indear his Affections to us, and render him mightily concern'd for our welfare. Can the Mother forget her sucking Child, that she should not have Compassion on the Son of her Womb? yea, they may forget, but I will not forget thee saith the Lord. Isai. 49. 14. For since every thing is naturally inclined to love its own, we cannot but conclude that the God of Nature, from whom all natural Inclinations spring, hath in himself a most tender Regard for all that Family of Beings, of which he is the Parent; especially considering
2. That his own Self-love doth as strongly incline him to will our Good, as ours doth to will our own. For if he love himself as he cannot but do, being infinitely lovely; he must necessarily love what is like him, and affect to propagate his own Resemblance. But no miserable Thing can be like himself, who is infinitely happy; and therefore he cannot love to make others miserable, since in so doing, he must affect to produce what is contrary to himself, which implies a plain Contradiction. For unless he love our Misery, he cannot be supposed to desire it, because as I shall shew you by and by, himself can never be the better for it, and therefore if he desire it, it must be for its own sake. But how is it possible that the same Being should love Contraries at the same time; that he should at once take Delight in himself, and in what is most unlike him, or, which is the same thing, that he should be pleased with his own Happiness and with our Misery together. So that if he love himself who is infinitely happy, his own Self-love must necessarily incline him to will the Happiness of others; and unless our Happiness might be supposed to be prejudicial to his, which is impossible, it would be an Expression of Hatred to himself to wish ill to his Creatures. In his willing Misery in us, he would manifest himself to be displeased with his own Happiness, and openly declare that Misery was much more grateful to him; for how can he love Misery for it self, as he must needs do, if he take Pleasure in ours, and at the same time love himself who is so infinitely happy? This therefore we may build upon, with as much Confidence, as upon any first Principle in Philosophy, that God hath the same Reason to will our Happiness, as we have to will our own; that as we would be happy, because we love our selves; so because he loves himself, he would have us be so. He loves that others should be like him, even as every other Being doth that loves; for what he loves in himself, he must love in another, and that which he loves in another where it is, he must love to propagate to another where it is not; and consequently, as he must love our Happiness, because he loves his own, even so for the same Reason he must love to make us happy▪
3. That in concerning himself about us, he can have no other End to serve, but what we have in being concern'd for our selves▪ He is so infinitely happy in himself, that he can neither conceive nor desire any Good for himself, beyond what is contain'd within the Immensity of his own Being and Perfections; so that now he can have no Self-ends to serve, because he doth already enjoy all possible Degrees of Perfection and Happiness; and so can desire nothing without himself as an Addition to his own Beatitude, which is so infinite already that it will admit of no Increase. From hence therefore we may be assured that he can have no other Reason to concern himself about us, but only to do us Good, for to do us Mischief cannot be his End, because he can do himself no Good by it, his Happiness being already so compleat, that it cannot possibly need our Misery either to increase, or to serve as a Foil to it. 'Tis only Want and Indigence that make one Being desire the Misery of another. If I desire to rob another of his Happiness, 'tis to increase or to secure my own; if I desire to make another miserable, 'tis either to preserve my self from being so, or to procure my self that ill-natur'd Comfort of having a Companion in Misery. But God by the boundless Happiness of his Nature, is infinitely raised above all such mean Considerations, and therefore cannot have any Temptation in his Nature to do any Thing but Good to his Creatures But doth not the Scripture tell us, that he doth all things for his own Glory, and that he obtains this End as well by punishing as by rewarding his Creatures? Very true, but then it is to be considered, that the Glory he aims at, consists not in receiving of any Good from us, but in doing and communicating of all Good to us: For infinite Goodness can no otherwise be glorified than by its own Overflowings, and free Communications, and it can no otherwise be glorified in the Punishment of its Creatures, but only as it doth Good by it; for should it punish without good Reason, it would reproach and vilifie it self; but if it doth it for good Reason, it must be because it is good either for it self or others: for it self it cannot be; for how can an infinitely happy Being reap any Good from anothers Misery? and therefore it must be for the good of others, either to reduce those who are punished, or to warn others by their Example from running away from their Duty and Happiness. So that to do Good, is the End of God's Punishment, and because it is so, he is glorified by it; and considering that he is so infinitely happy, that he can no ways serve himself by our Miseries, it is impossible he should have any other End in concerning himself about us, but only that great and God-like one of doing us good, and making us happy. For the very Notion of an End includes Good; and therefore since the End of God's Concern about us, cannot be his own Good, it must necessarily be ours.
4. And lastly, That even that good Will that we bear to our selves, is only a Derivation from, and Participation of that infinite good Will which God bears us. For it is plain, that our natural Instincts, and Propensions, must be derived from the same Fountain with our Natures, and consequently that God is the Author of both; and if so, then that unquenchable Self love, and Thirst after Happiness, which is implanted in our Natures, must needs be derived from him, and owe its Original to some overflowing Spring of Love and Benevolence in his Bosom. For what should move him so to contrive the Frame of our Natures, as that we cannot but love our selves and breath after our own Happiness, but only his own good Will to us, and tender Care of our Happiness? What other End could he propose to himself, in stamping this vehement Propension in our Natures, only to excite us by it to be careful of our selves, and to pursue our own Interests? Doubtless if he had not loved us more than we love our selves, he would never have caused us to love our selves as we do, since he could have no other aim in causing us to do so, but only to oblige us to befriend our selves, and contribute all we are able to our own Welfare. And since it was out of mere Love to us that he made us to love our selves, and our own self-love is nothing else but a Ray and Participation of his Benevolence towards us, we may be sure it is purer in the Fountain than it can be in the Channel, that it is much more intense and vigorous in his Bosom than in our own. For as the natural Love of all Parents towards their Off-spring is a plain Instance of the indulgent Care which the great Father of Beings hath for all his Children, that he hath committed them in their Infancy to such tender Nurses as will be sure to take care of them when they cannot provide for themselves; that he hath not intrusted them to the Compassion and good Nature of other Beings, to be maintained by the Alms and Benevolence of their fellow Creatures, but hath taken security for their liberal Nature and Education from the inmost Bowels of their Parents; so that vehement Propension of Self-love which God hath implanted in us is a most genuine Signature and Impression of his Benevolence towards us, and shews how careful he was of us thus to take security of our selves for our own Welfare, and to oblige us to be happy by the most tender and vigorous Passion in our Natures. By all these considerations I think it is as clear as the Sun that God doth heartily loves us, and hath as unfeigned a good-Will for us, as we can have for our selves; so that unless we can suppose that we are better able to chuse for our selves than he, we have at least as much Reason to acquiesce in his Choices for us as in our own. It is plain he is as much our Friend as our selves, and therefore tho' what he wills and chooses for us may in some particulars appear very harsh and severe, yet that his Intention is good, and that he means as well towards us as we can towards our selves; and therefore if in the Event it prove not as well for us as our own contrary Will and Choice would have done, we may be sure that it was not want of good Will to us, but for want of Skill to choose what was best for us. But if it appear that he doth not only wish as well to us as we do to our selves, but also that he knows how to choose for us a great deal better than we, then we have all the Reason in the world to acquiesce in his Choices how grievous soever they may appear to us, and to joyn heartily with our Saviour in this excellent Petition, not our wills, O Father, but thy Will be done. Which brings me to
2. The second general Head of discourse, that as God hath as good a Will to us as we have to our selves, so he knows much better what is Good for us than we. And to prove the Truth of this it is sufficient that God infinitely exceeds us in Knowledge and Understanding, he being Omniscient, and having all Things before him in one intire View and Prospect, whereas we see but in part, and know but in part, and are extremely shallow and superficial in our Conceptions of those Things that lye before us, which must necessarily render us infinitely less capable of judging what is Good for our selves than he. And this will more plainly appear by particular Instances, of which I shall only produce these five:
1. That we many times know only what is Good for our selves singly, but God knows what is Good for us as we are Parts of the Whole, and in Conjunction with it.
2. We many times know only what is Good for us with respect to such a particular End, but God knows what is Good for us in the main.
3. We many times know only this or that to be Good for us singly and apart by it self, but God knows whether it be Good for us in Conjunction with those Concomitants and Consequents that are necessary to it.
4. We many times know only what is Good for us in respect to our present Temper and Disposition, but God knows what is Good for us in Reference to our constant and most abiding Disposition.
5. We many times know what is Good for us with respect to this present State of Things, but God knows what is Good for us in Reference to our eternal Condition. In all which Instances I doubt not to make it appear that God is much fitter to choose for us, than we for our selves.
1. That we many times know only what is Good for our selves singly, but God knows what is good for us as we are Parts of the Whole, and in Conjunction with it. Man is naturally a sociable Creature, and as such can never be happy alone. His Musick is always best in Consort; when it consists of numerous Voices, every one bears a Part with every one. And since our Nature is such, as that we are not comparably so well pleased with solitary as with sociable Fruitions, it is every single Mans Interest that his own private Good should not be seperated from the Good of the Whole; that it should not grow like a Wen by ingrossing the Nourishment that is due to all the other Parts, but rise and increase in such just Proportions as is consistent with the Happiness of all the Rest: and there is no man whatsoever that hath the least Spark of Generosity in him, but to contribute to a Publick Good would joyfully submit to a great many private Inconveniences, and would reckon his own personal Dammage fairly compensated by the Advantage that the Publick receives by it. But so narrow and confined is our Prospect of things, that in our private Choices we many times ignorantly seperate our own Interest from the Publick's, and choose that for our selves, which, should we obtain, would prove very injurious to the Whole. We would fain change our present Condition for some other which we have Reason to believe would be much more advantagious to us; but should we obtain our Desire, it may be the Publick would be much more injured by it, than our selves could be benefited. Perhaps we are fittest to do Good in our present Station, or, should we remove, some unworthy Person may get in in our Room, or some Person that is more worthy than our selves may be displaced by us; and by a thousand other ways which we are not able to comprehend, our shifting of Places may so puzzle and disorder the well-laid scene of Affairs, that had we foreseen it at first we should much rather have chosen to keep where we are. Again, we lye under the sense or Apprehension of some great Calamity, and doubtless if we might choose for our selves we would immediately be delivered from it; but did we always foresee how much Good others may reap from our Sufferings, how much our private Infelicity may conduce to the Weal of the Publick, I hope we should not be such narrow-spirited Persons as for the sake of our present Ease to neglect so fair an Opportunity of being publick Benefactors to the World. But now God hath such an intire Prospect of all Things before him, that he plainly sees all the little Clashings and Interferings of Mens private with the Publick Good. And as he knows that we cannot be happy alone, so he resolves that we shall not; for he never wishes any Mans private Good separately from that of the Publick, but in one steady Drift he carries on the Interest of each single Part in Conjunction with the Interest of the Whole. And hence in the Prosecution of single Ends we see he is not always wont to proceed in the most direct and compendious Way, but often times winds about in a large Circuit, in which he infolds and takes in a thousand concurrent and subordinate Designs; and drives them all at once before him in the Course and Series of his Providence. And tho' in this general Drift of Things, the Concerns of particular Men are sometimes set forwards, and sometimes backwards, in Pursuance of the main Design; yet all at last conspires in the publick Good, whereof each Particular hath a share. And therefore tho' for a publick Good we some times suffer a present Inconvenience, yet since we cannot be happy but in Society, it is much better for us that we should be dammaged than the Publick; because the Happiness of each particular Member redounds from the Welfare of the whole Society, and is necessarily involved in it: And did we but rightly understand our own Interest, we should never esteem any Thing Good for our selves that is a Nuisance to the Publick, because whatsoever this suffers, I and every Man suffer; and unless I could be happy alone, that can never be for my Interest in particular that is against my Interest in common. Since therefore the Happiness of every Part is included in that of the Whole, and consequently whatsoever promotes the Publick Good is beneficial to each particular Member; it hence necessarily follows that God can choose much better for us than we. For whereas generally our Foresight is limited within the narrow Horizon of our own particular Concerns, by reason whereof we cannot many times avoid choosing against the common Interest, God hath the whole series of Things before him, and so must necessarily see even from the Beginning to the End what is for the publick Interest and what not; and therefore since he who is sole Administrator of the publick Bank of humane Interest knows how to make the best Improvement of it, it is doubtless much more advantagious for us that he should manage all our particular Shares of it, then that we should reassume them into our own Hands, and manage them separately by themselves: And tho under his Conduct and Management we suffer some present Inconveniences, yet so long as we are sure of this, that the Publick Good requires it and is promoted by it, we have all the Reason in the world to be satisfied. And this was the Case in the Text; the Inconvenience which our blessed Lord did here so earnestly deprecate was indispensibly necessary for the Commonweal of Men, in which himself had a large Share, being a Member of the Corporation of Mankind; so that had God granted his Desire, and excused him that bitter Cup he drank, not only Mankind in general but himself in particular, as he was a Man, would have been very much damnified by it; for he would have been deprived of those Felicities which he now injoys in common with us as he is the Head of a glorious Church, whom he redeemed and purchased with his Blood. He would have fallen short of that Mediaterial Dignity to which he is now advanced, and lost the Satisfaction of being the Author of our Happiness, and seeing the blessed Fruits of the Travail of his Soul; by all which he hath been aboundantly compensated for those momentary Sufferings he indured. So that in the Issue we see it was well for him as well as for us that the Will of God took place, his own personal Share in the common Happiness of Men being enough to recompense him a thousand Fold for whatsoever he suffered to procure it. Upon this Account therefore it is best that God should choose for us, because he always chooses what is Good for us in conjunction with the Publick, in the Prosperity whereof all our particular Welfare is involved.
2. We many times only know what is Good for us with respect to such a particular End, but God knows what is good for us in the main. The Generality of Men we see are so rash and precipitant in the Pursuit of their particular Ends, that they commonly overlook those Things that are of more general and Catholick Concern to them, and run themselves upon a thousand Inconveniences for the sake of such particular Goods as can never make them any reasonable Amends. Thus in our worldly Affairs, how often do we indanger our main Interest by snatching too greedily at some present Good? We think if we had it, it would serve such a Purpose and conduce to such a desired End; but when we have it, it proves a Mischief to us, and disappoints us of other Ends and Purposes which are of much greater Weight and Moment to us: And I believe there is no Man that hath been but a diligent Observer of his own Affairs, but hath found by Experience, that many of those Things which for such or such Purposes he hath earnestly coveted, have proved in the main extremely prejudicial to him; that either his Health or his Estate, his Peace or his Reputation, which are the main Ingredients of our temporal Welfare, hath been very much impaired by the Acquisition of some of those Goods which he hath most impatiently longed for. And how often have we seen Men impoverished by those Pleasures, disquieted by those Profits, made infamous by those Honours, and unhealthful by that Ease which they have doated on, and pursued with the greatest Impatience? So fond are we generally of our little particular Ends, that in the prosecution of them we seldom consult our main Interest! we consider only that this or that Good will serve this or that Purpose, and so we immediately let fly our Desires and Endeavours after that, without ever inquiring whether it will not be more prejudicial to us in general, than it can be beneficial in this or that particular; in which Case if we had but our own Wills, we should many times ruin our selves for Trifles, and sacrifice all the Happiness of our Lives to the present gratification of some fond and unreasonable Desire. But now God in the Conduct and Management of our Affairs considers our whole Case, and hath all our Circumstances together in his View, and so cannot but know whether this or that particular Good be consistent with our Welfare in the general; and whereas we, like Men in a Fever, do for our present Ease and Refreshment oftentimes long most impatiently for what is most hurtful and injurious to us, God, like a wise Physitian, consults our future Health more than our present Ease, and having an infallible Prospect of our whole Case and Circumstances, suits all his Prescriptions to the Necessities of our Condition, and not to the blind Impatiencies of our Appetites and Longings. He many times plainly sees that what we desire would be our Bane; and therefore out of tender Mercy chooses rather to deny us than to destroy us. That Patient would be accounted very unreasonable that should fall out with his Physitian for disturbing his sleep when he is inclining to a Lethargy, or denying him Drink in a Fever or a Dropsy; because tho' what he desires is good for those particular Ends of his present Ease and Refreshment, yet it is apparently destructive to him in the main. Thus doubtless it would have been very well for Ioseph, as to many particular Ends, not to have been sold by his Brethren, or imprisoned in Egypt, and doubtless had it been left to his own Option, he would much rather have chosen to continue at Home under the Care and Patronage of an indulgent Father; but had he seen, as God did, from the first Link of the Chain of his Fate to the last, and how inseparably his After-advancement was connected to his present sufferings, in the Course and Series of Things; he would doubtless have willingly chosen as God did for him, since tho' the contrary had been well for him in some particulars, yet this was much better in the general.
3. We many times know only this or that to be good for us singly and apart by it self, but God knows whether it be good for us in Conjunction with those Concomitants and Consequents that in the Course of Things are necessary to it. For the divine Providence, which runs thro' all Things, hath disposed and connected them into such a Series and Order, that there is no single Event or Accident, (but what is purely miraculous) that depends not on the Whole, and hath innumerable Causes antecedent to it, innumerable Concurrences going hand in hand with it, and innumerable Consequents attending it. But so narrow and confined is our Prospect of Things, that we only see that part of their Series and Order that is at present before us; and there are innumerable Things both concomitant and consequent to every Event that are out of the sphere of our Cognizance; by Reason of which it is impossible for us to make any infallible judgment either of the good or evil of almost any Event that befals us; because. tho' we may be secure that such an Event singly and apart by it self may be good or evil for us, yet for all we know, in the whole series of Things there be such concomitant or consequent Events inseparable to it, as may quite alter its Nature, and render that Evil which considered singly may be Good for us; or that good, which considered singly may be evil. So that in our Choice of Events we are necessitated for the most part to choose in the dark, because we see so little of the whole Series of Things, and of the Circumstances wherewith Events are accompanied and attended, that it is not in our Power to determine which is good or which bad for us. We many times look on such an Event as highly good for us and extremely desirable, and believe that if we could compass it we should be extremely happy; but poor, short-sighted Creatures that we are! we see neither the Company, nor the Train of it. If this Event doth befal us, according to the Series of Things, a thousand others must, and what they will prove we are not able to prognosticate, and for all we know the Mischief of them may abundantly outweigh the Benefit of this: and did we but foresee all that goes along with and all that must follow it, we should be many times most afraid of what we most eagerly desire. This therefore being our Case, how extremely unfit are we to make Choices for our selves, since it is almost an equal Lay whether what we choose will prove our Food or our Poison. But God being the supreme Orderer and Disposer of Things, must needs have them altogether intirely in his View; and having the first Link of the whole Chain of Causes in his own Hands cannot but plainly see all the intermediate ones from the Beginning to the End. And since his Power is the Cause not only of all actual Events but even of the Possibility of those that shall never be actual, he must needs discern the utmost Issues of every possible as well as actual Event, and see the remotest Effects and Consequents that are in the Wombs of all actual and possible Causes and Principles; and having all Things that are, or that may be in his View, he doth not only see what is good or hurtful to us, but what would be so if it were actual and existing. So that He needs not try Experiments upon us to know what is beneficial or injurious to us, because the Operation and Consequence of every possible Event is as obvious to his all-comprehending Knowledge before as after it is befallen us. And hence it is impossible for him to be mistaken in his Choices; because he knows as well before hand what Things would be if they were, as what they are when they actually exist. And tho' we may sometimes pervert the Natures of Things by our Abuse of them, and make that Evil to us which is really Good; yet God cannot be mistaken so as to prescribe us for Physick what is in its own Nature Poison; and consequently if he love us but as well as we love our selves, as I have demonstrated he doth, he must needs choose better for us than we; because he sees the utmost Consequents of all that doth or can befal us, and so cannot be imposed on by shews and false Appearances as we often times are. And of this I shall only give you one Instance, which is that of good old Iacob when he lost his Son Ioseph, which we plainly see by the Sorrow he expressed at it was an Accident that happened sore against his Will, and which he would have gladly prevented had he been but aware of it. But it is plain the good Man saw but a little Way into the Series of Things; he saw his Loss, but he saw not the Issues of it, for doubtless had he beheld that Train of happy Consequents that was chained and annexed to it, how it tended not only to Iosephs Advancement but to the Preservation of himself and his Family from the ensuing Famin, he would doubtless have been more a Friend to himself and a Father to his Family than to have countervoted God in his Choice and Election for him. But it was well for Iacob that God saw farther into the Consequents of Things than he; for if he had not, not only Ioseph had missed of his Preferment, but himself and all his Family had been in a great deal of Danger of perishing in the Famin. So that when all is done, you see the wisest Course we can take is to resign up our selves into the Hands of God, who seeing the utmost Issues and Consequents of Things can never be mistaken in choosing what is best for us.
4. We many times know only what is Good for us with respect to our present Temper and Disposition, but God knows what is good for us in Reference to our constant and most abiding Condition. We are a Sort of Creatures that are extremely fickle and immutable, our Humours change upon every new Occasion, and our Desires, like the Weather-cocks look contrary Ways upon every contrary Wind; now we are of one Mind, and by and by of another: this seems to us now, and anon the quite contrary, and often times in the same Hour we are several Sorts of Men. But still we choose according to our present Temper, and so still as this alters, our later Choices thwart and run a Tilt at our former. So that should every Thing happen to us that we desire and wish for, we should be the most miserable Creatures in the World, since what we choose in this Hour we should reject in the next, and what we longed for to Day we should be sick of to Morrow. And since no Man certainly knows now what mind he shall be of anon, for all that he can tell, that which is most agreeable to him now may be most disagreeable to him then, and if he should change his present Mind, as it is very likely he may, he will immediately unwish what he now wishes for, and dearly repent of what he most heartily chooses. How then is it possible that we should choose well and wisely for our selves, all whose Choices do depend on a Temper that is so everlastingly fickle and variable? But now God, who foresees what our most constant, lasting, and durable Temper will be, is much better able to adapt Events to it, and to contrive all our Circumstances into a fair Accommodation with it; and tho' it is impossible but he must sometimes cross us, because our Humours do so vary, and we do so often cross and contradict our selves; yet knowing best what our standing and permanent Temper will be, he must needs know best also what will be most constantly convenient for us and agreeable to us. For if he be cordially our Friend, as it is apparent he is, he will not so much consult the Gratification of our peevish, fickle, and unconstant Humours, as of our most permanent Temper and Disposition; and if he know much better than we what our most permanent Temper and Disposition will be, as it is apparent he doth, he must needs be much abler to suit and accommodate it with convenient Events and Circumstances. Of this you have a remarkable Instance in the Method of Gods conducting Israel out of Egypt into Canaan. Doubtless had They had their own Choice, they would have been immediately translated from their miserable Bondage into that happy Land; but God knew their standing Temper better than they did their own; he saw they were a stupid, stubborn, and untractable People, and as yet wholly uncapable of such a propitious Change, and that if he had conducted them into Canaan directly and in a Moment, they would have presently forgot their Benefactor, and let loose themselves to all Licentiousness and Wickedness; which must have naturally shortned their Prosperity and hastned it into an untimely Ruin: And therefore God saw it necessary to continue them some time longer in Egypt, that so by his mighty Works there he might awaken their stupid Minds into an awful Sense of his Majesty and Power. And when by his outstretched Arm he had brought them out of Egypt, he made them wander about Forty Years in the Wilderness; whereas had he led them directly on, a very few Days Marches would have brought them into Canaan. But he considered their stubborn Temper which was not yet capable to bear a prosperous Condition, till it was throughly disciplined for it in the School of Affliction; till it was broken, and tamed, and civilized, and rendered more tractable and obsequious. And tho' in thus Dealing with them, he acted quite contrary to their present Humour and Desires, yet did he act most advantageously for them, considering their standing Genius and Temper; for had he transmitted them into Canaan with all those barbarous Conditions that they brought out of Egypt, their Prosperity would have only heightned their Insolence and hastned their Ruin: And accordingly Deuter. 8. Moses tells them at large, that all Gods Severities to them in the Wilderness were to dispose them for the happy condition of Canaan; to prove and polish them, to break and humble their untractable Spirits, and do them good in the latter End; as you may see verse 2, 3, 5, 16. And if God choose to do what is best for us with respect to our standing Temper and Disposition, we have no reason to complain that he sometimes crosses our more fickle and variable Humours and Fancies.
5. And lastly, We many times know only what is Good for us with respect to this present State of Things, but God knows what is Good for us in reference to our eternal Condition. For we being a Sort of Creatures that are born to live for ever in eternal Weal or Woe, it is really a Matter of very small Moment to us whether we are happy or miserable here; 'tis no more than a short Nights Dream of Pain or Pleasure to a Man that hath fourscore or a hundred years to consume in Delights or Torments: and when we awake in Eternity all that is past will seem a Dream to us in the Presence of those never ending Ages of Ioy or Misery before us. But yet so fond are we generally of the present, that we most commonly choose without any Regard to the future. In our Choice of Objects we seldom project beyond our present Pleasure; if the Thing will but please us now, we rarely trouble our Heads to inquire what Influence it may have on our eternal Pleasure or Pain; yea, and many times if we should, it would be to no purpose; because in most of those Goods we choose and covet there are a thousand Snares we cannot discern, as well as a thousand Advantages which we are not aware of. In those Evils and Calamities which we run away from, we are not able to foresee how many Ways our souls may be indangered by those outward Goods we covet, nor yet how many spiritual Blessings those outward Evils may be pregnant with at which we are so startled and affrighted: so that in most of our Choices we can look no farther than our present Convenience, but what Effect they may have upon our everlasting Fate we can never certainly know till the Event hath determined it. Thus in this great Lottery of Goods and Evils we short-sighted Creatures are fain to choose at a Venture, and till the Event hath determined what our Choices are, we know not whether they are Blanks or Prizes. So that if we always had what we choose, God only knows the Mischief that would follow upon it; for to be sure every Man would choose to be prosperous, and if every Man were so, how many Thousands would perish for ever for want of the saving Remedy of Affliction, which is as indespensibly necessary to the reclaiming of some Persons and putting them into a Capacity of Happiness, as Food is to satisfy our Hunger, or Nourishment to sustain our Lives. Lord! what miserable Creatures then should we be, shouldst thou be so regardless of us as to allow us our Wills, who having so small a Prospect beyond this State of Things should many times for the sake of a present Convenience choose what might occasion our eternal Woe? But God being our best Friend must needs be supposed to intend our main Interest, which being lodged in our eternal State, he must needs be much more concerned about than about our Happiness and Conveniencies in this present Condition; nor indeed would he be our Friend should he advance our present Interests to the Prejudice of our Souls and immortal Concerns. So that if he love us, as we are most sure he doth, the main Drift and Design of his Providence over us must be to secure our Happiness in the World to come; and when this cannot be secured but by the Damage of our earthly Enjoyments, it is Mercy and Kindness to us to fling that Lumber over-board to save our precious and immortal Fraight. But he having a most perfect Intuition of the inmost Nature and utmost Consequents of Things, cannot but discern all those Stops and Turnings where our temporal and eternal Interests do clash and interfere with one another; and having a perfect Insight of all their Competitions, where the one cannot be advanced without the Depression of the other, he must needs know infinitely better than we how to prefer our main Interest, and to choose what is best for us. For he knowing best what our Temper is, and what the Consequents of things are cannot be ignorant of what is best for us and most conducive to our eternal Interest; whether Prosperity or Adversity be safest for our Souls, and most for the Security of our Vertue and Innocence; and knowing this he can so accomodate all Events to our spiritual Necessities, as that they shall all work together for our eternal Good. And if at any time he sees it necessary for our spiritual Good to instruct us by Rods, or to discipline us by Affliction, it is infinite Mercy in him to cross our blind Wills by interrupting our beloved Ease and Prosperity. And if we saw but what he sees when he corrects and chastises us, and knew the Reasons of his Actions; we should doubtless beseech him to do as he doth, and whilst we were smarting under his Lashes, we should be adoring his Goodness for making such wise Provision for our Welfare. Thus when David was hunted like a Partridge on the Mountains by those successive Afflictions which God let fly at him, he doubtless concluded himself to be very severely dealt with, and would God but have allowed him to choose his own Fate, he would much rather have chosen to have lived in an uninterrupted Calm of Prosperity, than to be exposed, as he was, to the incessant Storms of an adverse Fortune. But when Experience had better instructed him what were the Reasons of God's Actions, how necessary they were to correct his Follies, and curb the Extravagancies of his Nature; he was then plainly convinced that God had dealt much better by him, than he would have dealt by himself, and was forced to acknowledge that it was well for him that he was afflicted; for before I was afflicted, saith he, I went astray; But now I have kept thy Commandments. Psal. 119. 67.
So that by all these Instances you plainly see that God can choose much better for us than we for our selves, and therefore if to this you add what hath been so largely proved, that he is as heartily our Friend as we can be our own, it will from hence necessarily follow that it is much better for us, that his Will concerning us should take Effect, than any contrary Will or Desire of our own.
What then remains, but that with all Chearfulness and Alacrity we resign up our selves into the Hands of God, and submit all our Choices and Desires to his heavenly Will; who having as unfeigned an Affection for us, as we can have for our selves, and a much better Prospect of our Affairs than we, must needs manage our Concerns to much greater Advantage than it is possible for us to do. Why then should we murmure and repine at any thing that befalls us? are we wiser than God? no; or can we pretend to be more careful of our Interest than he is? neither. In the Name of Goodness, what would we be at then? Would we have him resign up our Concerns to ourselves, and not intermeddle any farther in our Affairs? God forbid, that either he should have so little Regard of us, or that we should be such Traytors to our own Interest. For on this side Hell I know nothing more formidable than for God to let us alone, and give us up to our own Wills and Desires. And if I should hear him thus bespeaking me from the Battlements of Heaven, O foolish Creature, since what I do will not please thee, and thou art so dissatisfied with my Conduct and Management, from henceforth I will cross thy Desires no more, but let the Event prove good or bad, I will comply with thy Choices, and order all things to happen to thee according to thy own Will: I think I should look on my self as the most forlorn and abandoned Wretch on this side Hell, as one utterly excluded from the greatest Blessing that belongs to a Creature; and if I had any Hope of his Reacceptance, I would on my bended Knees resign back my self, and all that concerns me into his Hands again. I would beseech him above all things not to leave me to my self, not to throw me from his Care, or discharge me from his Conduct; and if I could prevail with him to take me again into his Care and Protection. I would promise never to repine against him more, but chearfully submit to his heavenly Will how severely soever he should think good to deal with me. And this not only I, but every Man else would do, that truly loves himself, and understands his own Interest, for where can our Concerns be better or safer lodged, than in the Hands of that infinite Wisdom that knows what is best for us, and that infinite Goodness that wills what it knows best, and of that infinite Power that doth what it wills? Why then should any Man be displeased that his Affairs are not managed his own way, when we are so sure of this, that they are managed by One that hath much more Skill to manage them than we; and One that having the same Love for us that we have for our selves, will be sure to manage them to the best Advantage? And since there is the same Benevolence towards us in God's Will, that there is in ours towards our selves, how much better is it for us that his should take Effect that is guided by such an infallible Wisdom, than ours that hath nothing to conduct and stear it but a blind Sense, or at best, a short-sighted Reason. Wherefore tho' our Affairs go never so contrary to our Wills in this present state of Things, yet this we may build upon, that it is best that Things should be as God will have them. And as when we are grown up to the Age of Men, we thank our Parents for those loving Severities they Exercised towards us when we were Children, and not able to govern our selves; because then we see, that if they had let us have our Childish Wills, and given the Reins to our wild Passions and Appetites, we should in all Probability have undone our selves: so when we come to our full Stature in Christ, and are grown up into a State of Perfection, then we shall see Reason to admire and praise the Goodness of God for those merciful Denials and kind Severities, upon the Account of which we now murmure and repine against him; and be fully convinced that it was happy for us, that we were not suffer'd to be our own Carvers, but had all our Allowances carved out to us by the wise and gracious Providence of our heavenly Father. Whensoever therefore we are crossed by his Providence in any of our Desires, let us but consider how unfeignedly he loves us, and how much more fit he is to chuse for us than we, and then we shall see infinite Reason to acquiesce in his Providence, and to joyn with our Saviour in this excellent Prayer, Father, not our Wills, but thy Will be done.