inferences may be drawn from that short admonition: first, that his sickness was a visitation for his sin: it did not happen by chance: secondly, that he knew what sin in particular was the cause of his suffering; because he could not otherwise have profited by the admonition; for it is not to be supposed, that our Saviour, when he said, sin no more, meant, that he should be perfect and without sin; it being impossible for man in this life to attain to a sinless state: thirdly, it was implied, that he should pray for the grace of God; without which, though a man knows his sin, he will not be able to forsake it: fourthly, that if the afflictions sent upon a sinner do not reform him, something worse is to be expected; whence it is reasonable to think, no man ever was consigned to extreme punishment or total ruin, till he had slighted the lesser warnings of Providence. In some cases, the goodness of God operates in a striking manner, by delivering us from some sudden and imminent danger, to remind us of our continual dependance upon him. We look back with terror for a while, and wonder how it was possible for us to escape with life under such circumstances; but when we have rightly considered the thing, we see the hand of God, and feel the obligation we are under, of dedicating to his service the life which he has preserved to us. All these things worketh God oftentimes with men, and he is now working the same with many every day. As his presence was with the Israelites in the wilderness, and his power acted for their preservation and correction, so it is now with us. Not a single circumstance befel them, which, at some stage of our journey through life, does not happen to us. He gives us meat and drink; though not from a rock nor from the clouds of heaven, yet often in some strange and unexpected way, which it was impossible for us to foresee. As he punished their faults, by bringing war upon them from the wicked nations. who hated them, and took delight in oppressing them; so he raises up enemies for the trial and exercise of good men, if their case require it. We are old, that when a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him. Whence it follows, that if his enemies disturb him, this may happen, because there is something in his ways which displeases the Lord, and wants to be corrected. Perhaps he has too much pride, or too little patience; and enemies are of great use to exercise our patience, and mortify our pride, by informing us of our failings, which they are always glad to discover. He who knows there is an enemy near, with a mouth open to publish his faults, looks the more sharply to his conduct, that his enemy may be disappointed. Sometimes it may be necessary, not only that our enemies should be at war with us, but that even our friends should turn against us; that we may learn to depend less upon earthly comforts, and draw nearer to that one sure friend, who hath said I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. In so high a subject as this of God's special Providence, there must of course be some difficulties, which will try those who are strong in faith, and perplex those who are weak in knowledge. These I shall propose and explain as briefly as I can. There are two cases, which at first sight seem to disagree with our doctrine; namely, the prosperity of the wicked, and the persecution of the godly: but these, when duly considered, will fall in with it. As to the prosperity of the wieked, it is to be noted, that there are minds which set no value upon any thing, but the possession and enjoyment of this world, and determine to have it at any rate. God permits it to them: he allows them what they desire. So Abraham said to the rich man in the parable, Son, remember that thou in thy life-time receivedst thy good things: not such things as were good in themselves, but good in thy estimation; they were thy good things; such as thou didst enjoy and set thy heart upon, without seeking or desiring any better. This the rich man knew, and so had nothing to say. He to whom God permits what the receiver calls good, and prefers to every thing else, cannot accuse Providence of taking part against him. And had it been denied to him, it had probably only vexed his unrighteous soul to no purpose: for mortifications and corrections, though good in their proper place, are distinguishable as such only to the eye of faith; and we are assured too truly that all men have not faith. The prophet David, when he reasoned with himself upon the dispensations of Providence, was soon relieved under this difficulty: I have seen, said he, the ungodly in great prosperity, and flourishing like a green bay-tree. But then it follows, yet he passed away, and lo, he was not; yea I sought him, but he could not be found. His life, though splendid and promising for a time, was short and transient. He seemed to himself to have taken deep root in the earth, and thought his fruit would endure; but a blast struck him on a sudden, perhaps when he thought least about it. He was preparing to enlarge his granaries, and enjoy the increase of his goods, and that night his soul was required of him. Self-indulgence is a burthen, and they who live without it are frequently in better spirits; plenty breeds fulness, and fulness breeds diseases; and so the lives of the rich are often much shorter than they might be; or it may please God by some sudden stroke to cut short the progress of a worldly man, to teach others not to trust in uncertain riches. Besides, the good things of this life are often but a temptation and a snare upon the passions: the great and the wealthy are in a slippery situation, more liable to fall than other men ; and their circumstances bring them into so many evils, that contentment with safety, is far preferable to grandeur and danger, even when we consider nothing but the present life. So that upon the whole, we have no objection against a special Providence from this consideration. : Neither is there any real objection from the sufferings of good men, if we take their condition altogether. To those who place all their pride in the esteem of men, and all their pleasure in ease and indolence, they seem to be under great disadvantage, as if Providence neglected them: but this is so far from being the case, that the greatest favourites of heaven, to whom Providence has been most attentive, have been called to troubles and sufferings in this world, from wicked and unreasonable men. Persons of distinction, commonly so called, are they whom man ́has honoured, and who make a figure with their titles and their outward appearance: but persons of distinction in the sight of God, are they who are of superior minds and rich in faith; and of such it is the privilege to be scorned and hated by an evil world. Read the instrument of St. Paul's preferment, and you will find it runs in this style-He is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles and Kings, and the children of Israel: for I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake. His suffering was no sign that God had forsaken him; it was his profession as a chosen vessel, his privilege, his honour as an ambassador of Jesus Christ. And all Christians are called to the same condition of life; honoured of God, and opposed by the world; persecuted, but not forsaken; and, when they suffer for the truth, his grace is more abundant, so that they can sing with joy under such circumstances as would provoke others to lamentation, and drive them to de-spair. Paul and Silas sang praises to God in a dungeon at midnight, when their feet were fast in the stocks. But their minds were still free and happy ; for the word of God was not bound. Ye shall know the truth, said Christ, and the truth shall make you free; with a sort of freedom which no sum can purchase; the freedom of the mind: a freedom from the bondage of error, and vice, and fashion, that variable foolish tyrant; a freedom, which gives us a right to converse with God: to search into the treasures of his wisdom; to hope in him, to trust in him, and sing praises to him; all of which are privileges, such as the world cannot take away. The miser may be robbed of his wealth, the prince of his kingdom; but the Christian cannot lose the treasures of his heart, and as to the value of them, the psalm of a saint, within the walls of a prison, has more real comfort in it than the triumphs of an emperor, if he lives without God in the world. Another difficulty yet remains with respect to the doctrine of divine Providence. Some think it an office unworthy and troublesome, beneath the lmighty, to attend to the multiplicity of small occurrences in human life. But this arises only from our imperfect way of considering things, and measuring the powers of God by the conceptions of man. No office can be |