Practical Discourses Volume 2, Discourse 4
PSALM CXIX.68.
Thou art good, and thou dost good.
I Have already handled two of those four Topicks from whence I intended to demonstrate the Goodness of God, viz. his Nature, and the Works of his Creation; of the First of which I discoursed, upon the former Part of the Words: Thou art good. Of the Second upon the later; Thou dost good. But now because the Doings, or Operations of God include his Providence as well as his Creation, and God doth good in that as well as in this; no doubt but the Psalmist in these Words had a respect to the one as well as the other.
I proceed therefore to the Third Topick, from whence it doth most evidently appear, and that is his Providence. Thou dost good, i. e. thou dost good in the great Works of thy Providence, and thereby thou dost manifest the Goodness of thy Nature, in that as thou didst create a World to great and good Purposes, so thou dost still continue to do good to it in upholding and governing it by a most gracious Providence. Now in the Managment of this Argument I shall do these two things.
1. Give you some general and comprehensive Instances of Gods doing good in the Works of his Providence.
2. That though there may be some Things in the World that to us seem to be very ill and hurtful, yet it is infinitely unreasonable for us to suspect the Goodness and Beneficence of the divine Providence.
First, I shall give you some general and comprehensive Instances of Gods doing good in the Works of his Providence; and they are these Four.
1. His upholding Things in that good Course and Order wherein he first created them, excepting only when the publick Good of his Creatures requires him to interpose.
2. His continuing Mankind under an awful sense of Religion, notwithstanding the great Degeneracies of human Nature.
3. His supporting of Government in the World, notwithstanding the violent Tendency of our corrupt Nature to Anarchy and Confusion.
4. His contributing to the Invention and Improvement of all those useful Arts and Sciences that are in the World.
1. His upholding Things in that good Course and Order wherein he first created them, excepting only when the publick Good of his Creatures requires him to interpose. That that Order and Course of Things which God first established in his Creation was exceeding good and beneficial to it, I have proved at large in my former Discourse; and that God still continues the same good Will to us is apparent, since he still continues things in the same beneficial Course and Order wherein he first created them. For we see the Heaven and the Elements still as kind to us as ever; the Sun, Moon and Stars do still run the same Courses, and still they cherish and refresh us with the same benign Influences; and though for six Thousand years together they have been perpetually visiting us, and spending the liberal Alms of their great Creator upon us, yet to this Day they are neither wearied, nor exhausted; but still continue to do us good with the same Freedom and Vigour as when they first danced round the World, and sang together for Joy. The Fire, and Air, and Earth and Water are still as liberal to us as ever, and do supply us with the same Necessaries of Life as they did from the first Moment of their Being; and though for so many Ages we and innumerable other Animals have been liberally maintained out of these vast Store-houses of Nature, yet still we find them replenished with an inexhaustible Fulness. So that still not only the Earth, but all the other Elements are full of the Goodness of the Lord; yea, and though in their Qualities they are quite contrary to one another, yet are their Animosities so tempered by the gracious Providence of Heaven, that they all live together like Brethren in unity, and the Dryness of this drinks not up the Moisture of that, nor doth the Cold of the one quench the Heat of the other. The Fire invades not the Air, nor the Water the Earth, but every one keeps within its proper Bounds; and though in sundry Places the Water be above the Earth, yet contrary to its own Nature which is to flow and expatiate it self, it doth only overlook its Banks, but doth not overflow them, being bounded by that merciful Providence, which in mere Pity to the Inhabitants of the Earth, says to its proud Waves, hitherto shall ye go, and no further. So that in short the Continuation of the regular Motions of the Heavens, of the Vicissitudes of Seasons, and alternate Mutation of Bodies, of the safety of the whole Vniverse, notwithstanding the rude Clashings of turbulent Matter, and of the exact Symmetry of all the Parts of it in Despite of the frequent Rencounters of so many contrary Principles, shews not only the Power and Presence of some great Mind, but is also a plain Evidence of the Continuation of his Care and good Will to the World. And as he hath continued the inanimate World in that most excellent Course and Order wherein he first created it, so he hath still preserved all those innumerable Species of Animals which he first gave Being to; so that in so many Ages and among so many Chances there is not one Kind of them hath either failed, or perished, or become less capable of Happiness, or less furnished with Means and Abilities of obtaining it. So that his Providence is nothing else but a constant Repetition of the Goodness of his Creation; and all the Difference between them is only this, that in the one he made all Things Good, in the other he continues them so. 'Tis true, God hath left himself at Liberty when Occasion requires immediately to interpose in the Course of Nature, and to vary from the Order of his Creation. And indeed unless he had done so, he would in a great Measure have tyed up his own Hands, and incapacitated himself from Governing the World; but yet he never makes Use of this Liberty but for very good Reason, to serve some very great and excellent End of his Government; either to punish some notorious Sinner, or some very sinful People, that so by their Example others may be warned from treading in their Footsteps; or to deliver or preserve some eminently virtuous Person, or Nation, that thereby others may be incouraged to imitate and transcribe their Virtues; or lastly, to confirm and ratify by some miraculous Effects some necessary Revelations of his Will to the World: Unless, I say, it be to serve some such excellent Ends as these, he never interposes by his absolute Power to make the least Interruption in the established Course and Order of the Vniverse. And as soon as ever he hath obtained the good Ends that he aims at, he withdraws his Hand, and immediately remits Things to their primitive Course and Order. So that if Gods Creation be good, as I have largely proved it is, his Providence must needs be so too; because it continues the Course and Order of the Creation, and never interrupts, or varies it, unless it be to do some great Good to the World. Thus God in his Providence doth continually spread forth the mighty Wings of his Goodness over all his Creation, and thereby reaches out Perseverance to the Being and the Happiness of every Creature.
2. Another Instance of his doing good in this great Work of his Providence is his continuing Mankind under an awful Sense of Religion notwithstanding the great Degeneracies of human Nature. It is very strange to consider how this heavenly Spark hath been kept alive in the midst of such a vast Ocean of Impiety as hath over-spread the World; for considering into what monstrous Barbarism Mankind have immersed themselves, how miserably they have defaced their own Nature, and blotted out their Reason; insomuch that in several Ages and several Parts of the World they have had scarce any other Remains of Humanity in them, but only their Language and their Shape: I say, considering these Things, it is impossible but all Sense of Religion must long e're now have been extinguished in us, had not the divine Providence from Time to Time been exceeding careful to cherish and revive it: And this it hath done by very strange and extraordinary Methods; sometimes by inflicting strange and amazing Judgments upon great and notorious Offenders; sometimes by showering down miraculous Blessings and Deliverances upon virtuous and good Men; sometimes by raising up eminent Examples and Preachers of Righteousness, such as the Patriarchs among the Jews, and the Philosophers among the Gentiles; sometimes by making immediate Revelations from Heaven, and confirming the Truth of them by miraculous Effects; and sometimes by permitting evil Spirits to appear to possess the Bodies of their Enthusiasts, and to deliver Oracles by them; which though it sometimes tended to promote false Religions among Mankind, yet did always prove instrumental to cherish and enliven the Sense and Belief of a Divinity. By these and such like powerful Methods hath the good Providence of Heaven from time to time revived in us the dying Sense of Religion, and in Despite of our selves continually kept us under its Aw and Restraints; which if it had not done, we should have immediately run headlong into the most deplorable Confusions and Disorders. For not only our eternal, but our temporal Interest too is bound up in Religion; for this is the Foundation of all human Society, and of all the Blessings that redound from it; 'tis this that gives Life and Security to all those Pacts and Covenants by which Men are linked to one another, and incorporated into regular Societies. For if once Men were abandoned of all Sense of Religion they would own no other Law but that of their own Interest, and esteem themselves no longer obliged by their Oaths and Covenants than 'tis their Interest to keep them; and he that thinks himself bound to be honest no longer than he needs must, will by the same Principle be obliged to be a Knave as soon as he can. So that if once Men could disingage themselves from the Sense of Religion and the Tyes of Conscience, all those Pacts and Covenants, which are the Cement of Society, would presently be dissolved and rendred insignificant; for what will it signify for Men to take Oaths and Covenants of Fidelity to any Society, since whether they take them or no, they will be faithful so long and no longer than 'tis their Interest to be so. And this vital Cement that unites us being dissolved, our Society will soon disband of its own Accord, and we, like the Parts of a dead Body having lost the Soul that united and hold us together, shall immediately disperse our selves and fly abroad into Atoms, and out of an eternal Distrust and Diffidence of one another, having no Religion or Conscience to secure each others Honesty, shall be forced to withdraw like other Beasts of Prey into Dens and secret Retirements, and there live poor and solitary, as Bats and Owls, and subsist like Vermin by robbing and filching from one another. And in this deplorable Condition we should be forced to wander about the World naked and destitute both of all the mutual Aids and Assistances of each other, and of all the blessed Hopes and supports of Religion, which are the only Comforts and Refreshments that in such a calamitous State our wretched Natures would be capable of. So that without the Sense of Religion we should be of all Creatures the most wretched and miserable. And this the good God foresaw very well, which made him so careful to inspire us with an awful Sense of Religion; and when through the Degeneracy of our Nature it was in so much Danger of being utterly extinguished, to awaken and revive it again from Time to Time by the wise and gracious Methods of his Providence, that so we might live happily here as well as hereafter, by enjoying the Blessings of each others Society, and the continual Supports and Comforts of Religion: For it is to him that we owe our Sense of Religion, and 'tis to our Sense of Religion that we owe all the Conveniencies and Comforts of our Lives. How much Reason therefore have we to admire and adore the good Providence of God, that hath taken so much Care of us; that would not suffer us to make our selves the most wretched and miserable of all Beings; that hath been so vigilant to rouze and awake us when we were nodding into a lethargick Stupidity, and sleeping away all the Happiness and Comfort of our Lives; in a word, that hath kept Religion alive in us in Despight of all our Attempts to extinguish it, and would not suffer us to destroy the Foundation of our own Happiness!
3dly. Another Instance of the Goodness of God's Providence to us, is his supporting of Government in the World, notwithstanding the violent Tendency of our corrupt Natures to Anarchy and Confusion. If we reflect but a little upon the depraved Natures of Men, what ungovernable Passions they carry about with them, how sick they are of every Yoak, and how impatient of every Restraint; how greedily they covet an unbounded Liberty, and how much the greatest Part of Men are of this violent Temper; it will afford us matter of sufficient Astonishment to think how Government and good Order could be so long preserved as it hath been among such a sort of wild and extravagant Creatures; especially considering how much more numerous the governed Party is than the Governing, and how apt the Government it self is to be rendred odious by ill Management, by the Tyranny and Oppression of those that sit at the Stern, and the perpetual Factions and cross Humours and Interests of the inferior Ministers of State: I say, considering all these Things, 'tis a Wonder how the Ship of Government should live so long as it hath sayled in the midst of such Tempests and Hurricanes; and doubtless long ere now it must have been swallowed up in Anarchy and Confusion had it not been guarded by the Providence of that God, who, as the Psalmist tells us; stills the noise of the Seas, and the noise of their Waves, and the tumult of the People, Psalm lxv.5. And how much his Providence hath been concerned in securing of Government in the World, is evident from the Care it hath taken to keep Men under an awful sense of Religion, which is the main Foundation upon which Government leans, and without which it must necessarily sink into Ruin and Confusion; for, together with Religion away go all Principles of Loyalty; and when these are all gone, their Obedience to Government will wholly depend upon their Interest, and consequently whensoever it is their Interest to rebel, they have no Obligation at all to restrain them. And as Providence hath been very careful to secure the main Foundations of Government, so it hath been no less careful to infatuate the Councels, and bring to light the dark Contrivances, and baffle the open Attempts of those that have sought to undermine it; and this in such a remarkable manner, that all the World hath taken peculiar Notice, and all Histories abound with innumerous Instances of it. And in all the Rises and Falls of the Empires of the World there hath ever been observed a most astonishing Concurrence either of such happy or unhappy Accidents, as have very much furthered their approaching Fates; which is a notorious Evidence how much God is concerned in the securing of the Governments of the World, in that he doth so immediatly interpose in their Rises and Falls; and whensoever in his just Displeasure he pulls down one, he always takes Care to establish another in the Room of it, lest through too long Interregnums the Nations of the Earth should insensibly crumble into Anarchy and Confusion, and finally involve themselves in all the consequent Mischiefs of it. For the Subversion of Government, like the opening of Pandora's Box, must necessarily let loose a swarm of Miseries into the World; for without Government wronged Innocence can never be righted, invaded Property can never be retrieved; but every Man will be exposed to every Man's Lust, which must immediately involve us into a State of War, in which like so many Dogs we should try all our Right by our Teeth. Into such a miserable State would Mankind be reduced, if God did not uphold the Governments of the World. So that whatsoever Benefits we receive from the Governments under which we live, we owe it all to the divine Providence; by whose Procurement it is that Kings reign, and Princes decree justice, Prov. viii.15. 'Tis to this blessed Cause that we are to attribute our sitting safely under our own Vines, and peaceably enjoying the Fruit of our Labours; that we are not banished from Society, and exposed to the Spoils and Ravages of those that are mightier than our selves; that we are not become more savage than Wolves to one another, and that the whole World is not converted into a Commonwealth of Cannibals: For this would be the consequence of the Dissolution of Government, and that would be the Consequence in all probability of God's withdrawing his Providence from the World.
4thly, And lastly, Another Instance of the Goodness of God's Providence to us is its contributing to the Invention and Improvement of all those useful Arts and Sciences that are in the World: For if we seriously consider the prodigious Numbers of these wherewith the World doth abound, and wherein the Generality of Mankind are imployed; we are never able to imagin how they could have all been invented and improved as they are, without the Direction of an Almighty Providence. For had not the divine Providence prolonged the Lives of the first Inventers of them to such a prodigious Age as it did, they would not have had Time to collect Experiments enough whereon to found any certain Theorems of natural Science. How could they have measured the Motions of the heavenly Bodies, or given any tolerable Account of their slow Revolutions, if they had not lived so many Hundreds of Years as they did? And though the Rudiments of proportion are lodged in our Minds, yet it is not imaginable how Men could ever have improved them into so many various Practices, of Arithmetick, Musick, Geometry, and Mechanicks, had they not been at first either inspired by God, or had a long Space of Time allowed to reduce them into Rules of Practice. And he that shall but seriously consider how far out of the Road of ordinary Experience many of the most useful Arts of the World lie, such as Writing and Printing, by which a Man may talk with his Friend a thousand Miles Distance, and converse with the World when he is dead and gone, will find sufficient Reason to attribute the Invention of them to the Sovereign Direction of the divine Providence; without which neither am I able to imagin how the medicinal Virtues of sundry Herbs and Vegetables and Minerals could have been discovered, which now are of great Use to us, since even these also do lie exceedingly remote from common Observation. And when I also consider how many Things are requisite to the compleating of the most useful humane Arts, and what Intricacy and Mystery there is in them, insomuch that in many Cases we are not able to give any Reason why this or that Cause in our Art should produce this or that Effect; I must needs conclude, that the Invention and Improvement of them hath been exceedingly promoted by the wise Providence of God. And what Reason have we to adore and admire its unspeakabl Goodness towards us, that by instructing us in so many excellent Arts hath not only found sufficient Imployment for the greatest Part of Mankind to subsist by, but hath also taught us mutually to assist one another with all Kinds of Commodities and Conveniencies of Life! So that now we want nothing that either Nature or Art can supply us withall, the good God having furnished us, not only with Materials to work upon, but also with Art and Skill to manage and contrive them to the best Advantage. One would have thought it had been sufficient for him to have created a World for us, and therein to have furnished us with all that is necessary for our Being and Subsistence, and so left it to our selves to use and apply his Blessings as we pleased; but that he should condescend to instruct us in so many Arts of improving his Blessings, how to dress and cook them to the best Advantage, and one way or other to render the meanest of them all useful and beneficial to our selves and others, is such a gracious Condescention of Goodness as for ever deserves our Praise and Admiration. And so I have done with the first thing proposed, which was to shew you what apparent Instances there are of the Goodness of God in his Providence towards us.
2. I proceed to the next Thing proposed, which was to shew you that though there be some Things in the World that to us seem to be very ill and hurtful, yet it is infinitely unreasonable for us therefore to suspect the Goodness and Beneficence of God's Providence; that because we see such an unequal Distribution of good Things to bad Men, and bad Things to good Men, and do find so much Sin and Wickedness in the World, and so great a part of Mankind over-run with so much Barbarism, Superstition and Idolatry; because, I say, we see and find such Things as these in the World, we have no Reason at all to charge the Providence of God. For let us consider,
1. That the Irregularities and Evils which God permits in the World are not the Effects of his Providence, but of the Choices and Actions of free Agents.
2. That many Things seem evil to us in the World, because we take false Measures of Good and Evil.
3. That many other Things seem evil to us in the Course of God's Providence, meerly because we often mistake bad Men for good, and good Men for bad.
4. That many Things seem Evil to us in the Course of God's Providence, because we are acquainted but with a small Part of the World, and do judge of what is good and evil for the Whole by what we find is good or evil for this small Part.
5. That many other Things seem evil to us in the Course of God's Providence, because we judge of them by their present sensible Effects, and are not able to comprehend the universal Drift and Connexion and Dependence of them.
6. That many other Things seem evil to us in the Course of God's Providence, meerly because we understand very little of the other World.
1. That the Irregularities and Evils which God permits in the World are not the Effects of his Providence, but of the Choices and Actions of free Agents. That there is such a Thing as Sin in the World is by no Means to be charged upon the Providence of God; for that neither commits any Sin it self, nor impels or necessitates any others to commit it. Let no Man say when he is tempted, he is tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any Man, Jam. i.13. 'Tis true, he permits us Men, whom he hath made free Agents, to act freely; and if there were no Fault at all in making of free Agents (as certainly there was not) what Fault can there be in permitting them to act congruous to their own Natures? And is it just that God's Providence should be blamed, because it doth not metamorphose free Agents into necessary ones; that is, because he doth not unmake what he hath made, and subvert the Laws of his own Creation? or is it reasonable that we who are the only Authors of Sin, should blame the Providence of God for suffering us to be so? For if Sin be an Evil, it is an Evil to us; and consequently we are much more concerned to prevent it, than the Providence of God; and if when we may, we will not do it, it is unreasonable that we should blame God for not forcing us to prevent it whether we will or no. So that all the Quarrel we can have against God's Providence is only this, that it doth not tie our Hands, and fetter our Liberty in the Chains of an Adamantine Necessity; that is, that he doth not undo his own Workmanship, and thereby confess himself overseen in his Creation of us, when there is no kind of Reason for it. For I beseech you, what hurt is it for Men to be made free Agents, and left to their own Choice whether they will be happy or miserable? And if it was no Fault at all for God to make us so, what Reason have we to blame him for continuing us what he made us? If therefore while he continues us free Agents we will needs chuse what is evil, and misimploy the Talent of our natural Liberty, the Fault is ours and not God's, and we may thank our selves for all the bad Consequents of it; and since not only Sin but most of the other Evils that are in the World proceed from our ill Use of our own Liberty, we ought in all Reason to charge them upon our selves, and not upon the good Providence of God.
2ly, That many Things seem evil to us in the Course of God's Providence that are not so in themselves, by Reason that we commonly take false Measures of Good and Evil. We think it a very great Evil, for Instance, that good Men are not blessed with great Plenty and Abundance, and that bad Men are; because we imagin Plenty and Abundance to be a very great Good, and the contrary a very formidable Evil: And this makes us blame the Providence of God, because we see the good Things of this World so promiscuously distributed without any Discrimination of Persons; whereas in reality Plenty and Abundance approaches nearer to the Nature of an indifferent Thing than of a very great and desirable Good. For if we consult our own Experience, we shall find that all worldly Goods are just what we make them, and that they do as commonly prove Plagues as Blessings to the Owners of them; that they intangle their Affections, insnare their Innocence, disturb their Peace, provoke and pamper their extravagant Lusts, and betray them first into Luxuries, then into Gouts or Dropsies, Catarrhs or Consumptions; and these most commonly prove the Effects of outward Abundance. So that in it self 'tis almost of an indifferent Nature, and doth good or Hurt to us according as we use and improve it; and threfore though God sometimes suffers good Men to want, and bad Men to enjoy it, we have no Cause to quarrel at it; for he understands the just Value of things, though we do not; he knows that the best of worldly Things are bad enough to be thrown away upon the worst of Men, and so expresses his scorn of the admired Vanities of this World by scattering them with such a careless Hand, and indulging the Enjoyment of them to the most despicable Persons. So that we ought to conclude, that he sets no great Value upon them, since he concerns himself no more in their Distribution; for why should he partake in the Errors of vulgar Opinion by expressing himself so regardful of these Trifles as to put them in golden Scales, and weigh them out to Mankind by Grains and Scruples?
3ly, That many other Things seem evil to us in the Course of God's Providence that are not so, merely because we often mistake bad Men for good, and good Men for bad. For I dare say that that Observation upon which we ground our Quarrel against the Providence of God, viz, that it fares worst with the best, and best with the worst of Men, is not half so general as we make it; for it is to be considered that generally we pity the miserable and envy the prosperous, and these Passions of ours do commonly bribe our Judgments, and make us think worse of the one and better of the other than either of them do deserve. For, those whom we pity we are inclined to love, and those whom we love we are inclined to think well of; and if we think well of them whether we have Reason for it or no, we conclude that God ought to be as fond of them as we: As on the contrary, those whom we envy we always hate, and those whom we hate we are inclined to think ill of; and if we think ill of them we think that God is obliged to think so too. And because we are so unreasonably inclined by our Passions to pass such false Judgments upon Men, is it fit that we should quarrel at God because he doth not judge as unreasonably as our selves; or because he doth not reward and punish Men according to the sentence that our blind Pity or Envy passes upon them? If we could but strip our selves of all Passion, and were but able to judge of Men, not by what they appear, but by what they really are; I doubt not but we should find that even in this Life it fares best with the best, and worst with the worst of Men; but since we are not competent Judges of this Matter, we should have a Care of reproaching the Providence of God with a Maxim that hath no other Foundation in the Nature of things, but our own fallacious Observation.
4thly, That many Things seem evil to us in the Course of Gods Providence that are not so, because we are acquainted but with a small Part of the World, and do judge of what is good or evil for the Whole, by what we find is good and evil for this small Part. We are never able to comprehend how far the Dominions of the divine Providence extend, nor how many Orders of Beings as well above as below us are concerned in its Empire and Government; but unless we could do this, we cannot be capable Judges of what is good or bad in the general Course of its Actions. For that is good or bad in the Providence of God, that is good or bad for its whole Empire and Dominion; and though this or that may be an Inconvenience to this or that Part of it, yet these particular Inconveniencies may be a great Convenience to the Whole. As for Instance; suppose a Man should come into the Country of Syberia, which is a great Part of the Empire of Russia, whither that Emperor is wont to banish all great Malefactors; he would there find the Inhabitants in a most miserable Condition, they being there exposed to Hunger and Cold, and perpetual Slavery. So that if a Man should judge of the whole Empire by this Part of it, he would conclude that Emperor to be a most savage Tyrant, and his Country to be the most miserable Place in the World; whereas in Reality all the other Parts of that Empire are rendred more happy by the Miseries of this Place, which serve to strike an Aw into all the other Subjects of it, and to restrain them within the Bounds of their Loyalty and Duty. And so unless we had as full a Prospect of the whole Dominion of Gods Providence as we have of this little Spot of it, we ought not to censure his Government of the Whole by the little Inconveniencies that occur in his Government of a Part; for in such a vast Dominion, as God's is, there may be a thousand good Reasons, that we know not of, why some Parts of it should be more unhappy than others; and if in some particulars he incommodes this Part for the publick Commodity of the Whole, we are so far from having any Reason to complain, that we ought in all Justice to praise and adore his Goodness for it. It is enough for us that we understand so much of Gods Nature as we do, and have such apparent Instances of his Goodness in the Works of his Creation and Providence; and therefore if we in this little Part of Gods Empire suffer some small Inconveniencies, we ought to bless and adore his Goodness for those greater Goods we enjoy, and to rest satisfied with this, that our particular Inconveniencies may for all we know be great Conveniencies to the Publick.
5thly, That many other Things seem evil to us in the Course of Gods Providence, because we judge of them by their present sensible Effects, and are not able to comprehend the universal Drift and Connexion and Dependence of them. For, as I have already shewn you in the former Discourse on this Argument, there is a continued Juncture and Dependence from first to last between all the Actions and Contrivances of divine Providence, and every one hath a Relation to every one from the Beginning to the End of all that mighty Chain of Causes whereof it consists. So that 'tis impossible to judge rightly of one Part of Providence separately from the rest, because we see not the Relation it hath either to what went before, or to what is to follow after; and though singly considered it may be hurtful, yet in Conjunction with all the rest it may be exceedingly advantagious. He that looks only on the first Links of that curious Chain of Providence in the History of Joseph, will be apt to entertain a very bad Opinion of the Whole; first he is thrown into a desolate Pit, then sold a Slave, then falsely accused, then cast into Prison: Lord, what a tragical Prologue is here! But then take all those Things in Conjunction with what follows, and you shall presently see that Scene clear up, and all those sad Preparations ending in a joyful Conclusion. And if we consider that most glorious Part that ever Gods Providence acted on the Stage of the World, viz. the History of our blessed Saviour; how dark and gloomy doth the former Part of it look, if we view it separately from the Antecedents and Consequents of it? Surely, if any Thing would justify our hard Censures of God's Providence, it would be the beholding of such a rare and excellent Person exposed to so many Miseries and Calamities; to see him cast forth to the wide World as a helpless Prey to the Rage of his Enemies, to behold him hanging upon the Cross, deserted of his Friends, mock'd and tormented by his barbarous Murderers, and in the most bitter Agonies breathing out his white and innocent Soul: O good Lord! What a dismal Prospect of thy Providence is here? But stay a little, let us but see the glorious Light that in Conclusion broke out of this dismal Darkness; first he is raised from the Dead, then he ascends up to Heaven, where at the right Hand of his Father he reigns an eternal King in full Power and Authority to give Gifts unto Men, and bestow those immortal Rewards on them which he purchased for them with his Blood. So that though singly and apart the first Scenes of this great Providence were very dismal and affrighting, yet considered altogether, how beautiful and harmonious doth it appear? So true is that of the Preacher, Eccles. 3.11. He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: Also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end. And therefore because we are not able to see from the Beginning to the End of God's Providence, it is an unreasonable Thing for us to censure the Whole, because of some seeming Inconveniencies that we see in those Parts of it that lie before us. Let us stay but till the winding up of the Bottom, till all is finished, and Present it one intire Piece to our View, and then we shall have leave to censure, if we can find any Reason for it.
6thly, And lastly, many other Things seem evil to us in the Course of God's Providence which are not so, merely because we understand very little of the other World. It seems to us a mighty Evil in Providence that so great a Part of the World is left in Darkness and Ignorance, and in so great a Measure deprived of the vast Advantages of true Religion; but how do we know how God will dispose of them in the other World, what Abatements he will make them, and by what Measures he will judge them; whether he will not allow them some farther Time of Tryal, and so make good to them there whatsoever hath been wanting to them here? But whatsoever he doth or will do, this we may be sure of, that he will damn none but those that are first self-condemned, but those that knowingly and willingly miscarry; and if so, then he will exact of them but in Proportion to their Abilities, and will not require Brick where he hath given no Straw. But which way soever he deals with them, to be sure first or last he will not be wanting in any Degrees of Kindness to them that are fit either for a wise Sovereign to grant, or a reasonable Subject to demand; and if he will do so (as undoubtedly he will) how unreasonably do we complain of his Providence towards us? And though in this Life, we see many good Men reduced to a very calamitous Condition, yet how do we know how necessary this may be to the securing of their Happiness in the World to come? For since our main State and Interest is in that other World, there is no doubt but the Providence of God over us doth chiefly Respect that; and if so, how unreasonably do we censure it upon the Score of the present Evils it exposes us to, when we know so little of the future State, to which all its Transactions do chiefly relate? Wherefore, let us forbear a while till we come into the other World, and understand the whole Design and Contrivance; and then we shall see that all will be right and well, yea and infinitely better than ever we could imagin. But for us to censure now, when we know so little of our future State, which is the main and ultimate Scope of Providence, is just as if a Man should pass his Judgment on a Picture when he sees nothing of it but some few rude Lines and very imperfect Strokes. Let us have but the Patience to suspend our Judgment a while till God hath finished the whole Draught, and given it all its natural Colours and Proportions, and then I am sure we shall see Cause enough forever to admire his Skill, and adore his Wisdom and Goodness. And thus you see by apparent Instances how good God is in his Providence towards us, and how unreasonable it is for us to censure his Goodness notwithstanding all those seeming Evils that happen in the World.
And now what remains but that with all Humility and Chearfulness we resign up our selves into the Hands of our most merciful Father, concluding, as most certainly we may, that whatsoever he doth with us, or howsoever he disposes of us, it will be all for our good in the later End, if it be not through our own Default. For where can we be safer than in the Hands of an Omnipotent and Omniscient Goodness, a Goodness that knows what is best for us, and wills what it knows to be so, and doth whatsoever it wills. Surely in such Hands our Condition is a thousand times better and safer than if we had full Power to effect our own Wishes, and all the Events that concern us were in our own Disposal. And if God should shake us off from all Dependence on him, and resign up the whole Conduct of our Affairs into our own Hands; if he should say to us, since you mislike of my Conduct I will no more intermedle with you, or any thing that concerns you; take your selves into your own Disposal and manage all your Concernments as you please: If I say, he should do thus with us, we should be left in a most forlorn and deplorable Condition, and unless we were wholly abandoned of our own Reason as well as Gods Providence, we should on our bended Knees resign up all into his Hands again, and beseech him for his Pity and his Mercy sake to do any Thing with us that will consist with his Goodness; to scourge and chasten us for our Frowardness as much and as long as his own fatherly Bowels will endure it; rather then give us up to our own Conduct, or leave our Affairs in the Disposal of our own blind and precipitant Wills. For so long as God is so powerfully and so wisely good as he is, it is the Interest of every Creature in Heaven and Earth to be at his Disposal, and to take up that self-resigning Prayer of our Saviour, Father, not our Wills, but thy Will be done. For since God wills our good as much or more than our selves, it must doubtless be our Interest that his Will should take place whensoever it stands in Competition with ours; because he doth not only wish well to us as much as we do to our selves, but he knows what is best for us a great deal better than we. Wherefore let us learn in all Conditions to repose our Minds in the good Providence of God, and to satisfy our selves in its Managment and Disposal of us; for whatsoever Condition it may bring us into whilst we are wandring through this Vale of Tears, this is most certainly and eternally true, that God is good, and doth good,