of God, to correct his people; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off, nations not a few, to gratify his ambition, pride, and cruelty, Isai. x. 5-7. So the ten kings, who have given their kingdoms to the antichristian beast, and become vassals to him, God put it into their hearts to do it, to fulfil his will in providence, which they knew nothing of, Rev. xvii. 17. an Egyptian philosopher made use of this as an argument of divine providence, shewing that all men were governed by God, since in every thing that ruled and governed, there was something divine.

111. Ministers of the word, and masters of families, are, in their respective stations, instruments in the execution of the affairs of providence. The work of ministers lies much in convincing men of sin, and in turning them from it, and directing them in the way of their duty, as well as in the way of salvation; and it has a very close connection with the providence of God, which is exercised therein and thereby. Masters of families, both by their instructions and examples, are very serviceable in providence to those that are under them; and, indeed, every man, in whatsoever station he is, has a work to do, which in providence, is ordered and disposed to answer some end or another.

IV. Even irrational creatures are employed in providence to execute some parts of it; the beasts of the field, the fowls of the air, and the fishes of the sea, being at the beck and command of the great creator of them. The noisome beast is one of God's four judgments which God has sometimes inflicted on wicked men; this he threatened the Jews with in case of disobedience to him; two she-bears by divine direction, came out of a wood, and tore in pieces two and forty children, for mocking a prophet of the Lord; and Lions were sent among the idolatrous Samaritans, to punish them for their idolatry, nay, not only creatures of such bulk and strength have been made use of in providence, but even the meanest and most minute, as flies, frogs, lice and locusts, which were four of the plagues of Egypt; and the latter is called the Lord's army, and his great camp, which sometimes have a commission to destroy a whole country, and strip it of herbs and plants, and every green thing, Joel ii. 11. the fowls of the air, the ravens, those voracious creatures, were employed in providence, to carry bread and flesh, morning and evening, to the prophet Elijah; and the fishes of the sea also have been made use of, God prepared a fish to swallow up Jonah, when he was cast into the sea, and he spake unto it, commanded and gave it orders to throw him upon the shore again; and a fish furnished Peter with a piece of money to pay the tribute for himself and his Master.

v. Inanimate creatures, the several meteors in the air, are under the direction of providence, and subservient to it. God has his treasures of snow and hail, which he reserves against the day of trouble, against the day of battle and war, and which artillery of heaven he sometimes plays upon the inhabitants of the earth; hail was one of the plagues of Egypt, by which, not only grass, herbs, plants and trees were battered down, but both cattle and men destroyed; and in a battle with the Canaanites, in Joshua's time, more of them were killed by

hail-stones from heaven, than by the Israelites; and sometimes others of the meteors are made use of in a way of mercy, as those mentioned in a way of judgment; so snow and rain, by commission, descend on the earth to refresh it, and make it fruitful, whereby it brings forth what is beneficial to man and beast: in short, every meteor in the heavens is at the command of God, and does his will; Fire and hail, snow and vapour, stormy wind fulfilling his word, Psal. cxlviii. 8.

Now, whatever good or evil come to the children of men, by any and all of these instruments, are not to be attrib tel to them, but to the God of providence, who makes use of them to bring about his designs. All the good things of life, the wealth and riches, men are possessed of, let them come by them in what way they may, by inheritance, by bequest, or by their own industry, yet all must be ascribed to God; Riches and honour come of thee, says David, 1 Chron. xxix. 12. he had amassed together a vast quantity of riches, great part of which, at least, he got by his victories over the Moabites, Syrians, &c. but who gave him the victory? God; and therefore, as he ascribes his military honour and glory, so his riches to him; in like manner as Job, through the providence of God, became the greatest man in the East for worldiy substance, as well as other things; so by the same providence he lost all; and though the Sabeans and Chaldeans were the instruments of it, he does not impute it to them, nor to Satan, who instigated them to it; but to the Lord: saying, The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away, Job i. 21.

IV. The several parts and branches, or acts of providence, of which it consists, are next to be considered; and they are chiefly these two, conservation, or preservation of all things created, and the government of them; or the wise and orderly disposal of them, to answer the ends for which they are made and preserved.

Conservation, or preservation of creatures, and the sustentation of them in their being; which is expressed by these several phrases, Thou preservest them all; that is, the heaven, and the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and seas, and all therein, Nehem. ix. 6.-Upholding all things by the word of his power; Heb. i. 2, 3.—By him all things consist, even all things created by him in heaven and earth, visible and invisible, Col. i. 16, 17. It may be proper to consider the necessity of God's sustaining and preserving the creatures made by him; and then shew to what and to whom this preservation extends and reaches.

1. That the sustentation and preservation of the creatures in their being, is of God, and must be so, and which may be proved,

1. From the nature and perfections of God, particularly his independence. God is an independent Being; all creatures depend on him, but he on none; Of him, through him, and to him are all things, Rom. xi. 36. If creatures could or do support and preserve themselves in their being, they would be inde pendent, and then there would be more independents than one, and so more

gods than one, which cannot be admitted; there is but one potentate, God over all, on whom all depend.

2. From the nature of creatures, which is to be dependent on the Creator; he that gives them life and breath, gives them all things for the support and pre servation thereof; yea, in himself they live and move and have their being; he not only grants them life and favour, but his visitation preserves their spirits; and this is true of all the creatures that have life, and breath, and motion; all depend upon God for the continuance of them; and even of rational creatures, he holdeth our soul in life, in union with the body, in which it lives, Acts xvii. 25, 28.

3. From the weakness of creatures to support and preserve themselves. If any creature could preserve itself, it might be thought that man could; but he cannot; he cannot preserve himself from disorders and diseases of body; if he could, he would not be attended with them: he cannot preserve himself from death; could he, none would ever die; but there is no man that hath power over the Spirit, to retain the Spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death; to keep it off from him; there is no discharge in that war, Eccles. viii. 8. nor can any man preserve his brother, friend, or near relation, so as they should live for ever, and see no corruption; for then none, for whom an affectionate regard is had, would ever die; nay, men cannot preserve their cattle, in which the chief substance of some men lies; could they, these would always be in good plight and case, and stand, and never fail; their sheep would continue to bring forth thou sands, and their oxen would be always strong to labour, Psal. xlix. 7, 9..

4. The same power that was put forth in creation, is required and is neces sary, for the preservation of the reatures made; eternal power was exerted, and is to be seen in the things that are made, and by the same almighty power all things are upheld, hence creation and preservation are so closely connected Nehem. ix. 6. and, indeed, preservation is no other than a continued creation.

5. Was God to withdraw his supporting hand and preserving power and influence, creatures would soon come to destruction and perish; the whole fabric of the world would at once fall to pieces; The earth, and all the inhabitants of it, are dissolved, that is, they would be, were it not for what follows; I bear up the pillars of it, Psal. lxxv. 3. Creatures, whilst God supports and supplies them with his hand of providence, they live; but when he hides his face, or withdraws his hand they are troubled, die, and return to their dust, Psal civ. 27. Job was sensible that he was held in life by the hand of God; he therefore desires he would let loose his hand, let go his hold of him, and then he should drop and die, for which he was solicitous, vi. 9.

6. The whole world is a building, and God is the architect of it; He that built all things is God; but this building differs from any building of man. A man may erect an edifice, and when he has done, leave it to itself, to stand or fall; and it does stand without him, and oftentimes subsists many years after the architect is dead; the reason of which is, that such an edifice is only the

effect of art; the builder does not make the materials of it, the stone and the timber; he finds them made to his hand; he only figures them for his purpose, and puts them together: and this is all that is necessary for him to do. But God, the great architect, has not only put together the world, and all things in it, in the beautiful order he has; but he has made the very matter of which it consists, and for the support of that his almighty power that created it, is requi

site and necessary.

7. Every creature is made for some end, and therefore it is necessary it should be preserved and continued until that end is answered; The Lord hath made all things for himself; Prov. xvi. 4. wherefore it may be strongly concluded, that as God has made all things to answer some subordinate ends to one another, and ultimately for his own glory; he will, as it is necessary he should, preserve them, that such an end may be answered, as it is in fact; All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord! Psal. cxlv. 10.

11. To what and to whom this preservation extends and reaches. It includes all the creatures God has made; the phrases by which it is expressed, as before observed, shew this; which declare that God preserves them all; that he upholds all things, and that by him all things consist; the world in general, and every individual in it; O Lord, thou preservest man and beast, Psal. xxxvi. 6. yea, every other creature.

1. Some of the individuals of the creation are sustained and preserved, as they were from the beginning; the prima materia, the first matter, of which all things were made, still continues; for matter is never annihilated, though it passes into different forms and figures. The whole world, which was made of it, is so established, as that it cannot be moved, Psal. xciii. 1. the form, figure, and fashion of it pass away, but the matter and substance of it remain. The ordinances of the heavens, and the heavens themselves, are as they were when first created; the sun is supported in its being, continued in its motion, and constantly supplied with light and heat, which it continually emits; for nothing is hid, as from the light, so neither from the heat of it; the stars, every one of them, keep their place, their station or course; because that God is strong in power, who sustains and preserves them, not one faileth, Isai. xl. 26. for what are called falling stars, are not stars, but meteors kindled in the air, which burn and blaze awhile, and then run and fall. A new star, so called, because not seen before, sometimes appears, but no one is lost. The heavens God has established by his understanding and power, so that they remain as they were; and though it is said they shall perish, wax old as a garment, and as a vesture be changed and folded, yet as a garment folded up still remains, though in a different form; so the heavens will not perish, as to matter and substance, but be changed, as to form, quality, and use, in which respect they will be new and continue; and the same may be said of the earth; for God has laid the foundations of it, that it should not be removed for ever, Psal. civ. 5. and though it underwent some change at the universal deluge, so that the apostle distinguishes the earth that then was,

from that which now is, yet as to substance it is the same; and though at the general conflagration, the earth, and the works that are therein, shall be burnt up, and a new earth will rise up out of it; yet the same as to matter and substance, only different as to form, an earth without a sea; and as to quality, being purified and refined; and as to use, only to be inhabited by righteous persons, 2 Pet. iii. 5-13. Angels and the souls of men, are preserved in being, as they were first created; angels die not, nor do the souls of men, when their bodies do, but survive them, and live in a separate state till the resurrection.

2. Some of the individuals of creatures, which are subject to corruption and death, are yet preserved, as long as it is the pleasure of God; as the beasts of the field and the bodies of men; for he preserveth man and beast, Psal. xxxvi. 6. the brute creatures wait upon him, and he gives them food for their sustenance, by which they are supported; and then when he pleases he takes away their breath and they perish. Man springs up like a flower, and flourishes for a while, and then is cut down; God sends him into the world to do his will, or to do some work by him, and when that is done, he changes his countenance, and sends him away, Psal. civ. 28. but though the individuals of various sorts of creatures die, yet they are preserved and continued in their species; thus, though herbs, and plants, and trees, wither and seem to be dead, or are dead in the winter-season, yet in the spring those that were withered revive; or, if dead, others spring up in their room, or are raised up by seed; so that there is a constant succession of vegetables. Cattle, and fowls, and fishes, though consumed in great numbers for the use of man, or on other accounts; yet their species is propagated by them, so that there is the same sort of creatures of all kinds, as were at the first creation; and though thousands of men die every day, in one place or another, all put together, yet still a race of men is continued; One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh, but the earth abideth for ever, and is full of inhabitants, Eccles. i. 4.

The other branch of providence is government, or the wise and orderly disposal of all creatures, to answer the ends for which they are made and preserved. God is the Governor of the whole universe; and he has a right to govern it, who is the Creator of it; the kingdom of nature is his, and so is the kingdom of providence; and he is the Governor among the nations; his government is very extensive, all creatures are subject to him; his kingdom rules over all, and it is an everlasting one; and his dominion endures throughout all generations. And as the government of the world is a branch of providence; so from the wise and orderly disposition of things in it, it may be strongly concluded there is a Providence; or that there is a God, who by his providence governs, guides, orders, and directs all things in the world: for if a man comes into a house, or a school, or a court of judicature, and takes notice of the order, manner, and discipline of things observed therein, he must conclude within himself, there is some one who presides there, and who is obeyed; and much more in such motions, in such vicissitudes and orders, and cf so many