as wisdom could contrive it, which is generally granted; it is a monstrous folly to impute it to chance. A man might better say, Archimedes did not make any of his engines by skill, but by chance; and might more easily maintain, that Cardinal Richlieu did not manage affairs by any arts or policy, but they fell out by mere chance. What pitiful shifts is Epicurus put to, when the best account he can give of the world, is this; That matter always was, and the parts of it in motion, and after a great many trials, the parts of matter at length hampered themselves in this fortunate order wherein they now are'; that men, at first, grew out of the earth, were nourished by the navel-string, and when they were strong enough, broke loose and weaned themselves: that the nostrils were made by the waters making themselves a passage out of the body; and the stomach and bowels by the waters forcing a paffage downwards, that the members of the body were not made for those uses for which they serve, but chanced to be so, and the uses afterwards found out. Is it worth the while to advance such senseless opinions as these, to deny the wisdom of God? Is it not much easier, and more reasonable to say, that the wisdom of God made all these things, than to trouble ourselves to imagine how all things should happen thus conveniently by chance? Did you ever know any great work, in which there was variety of parts, and an orderly disposition of them required, done by chance, and without the direction of wisdom and counsel? How long time might a man take to jumble a set of four and twenty letters together, before they would fall out to be an exact poem; yea, or to make a book of tolerable sense, though but in profe? How long might a man sprinkle oil and colours upon canvas, with a careless hand, before this would produce the exact picture of a man? And is a man easier made by chance than his picture? He that tells me that this great and curious frame of the world was made by chance, I could much more believe him if he should tell me that Henry the VII's chapel in Westminster was not built by any mortal man, but the stones did grow in those forms into which they seem to to us to be cut and graven; that the stones, and timber, and iron, and brass, and all the other materials came hither by chance, and upon a day met all happily together, and put themselves into that delicate order, in which we fee them so close compacted, that it must be a great chance that parts them again. Now, is it not much easier to imagine how a skilful workman should raise a building, than how timber and stones, and how that variety of materials, which is required to a great and stately building, should meet > together all of a just bigness, and exactly fitted, and by chance take their places, and range themselves into that order? I infist the longer upon this, because I am sensible how much atheism hath gained in this age. 2. Let us admire and adore, and praise the wif. dom of God, who hath established the world by his wisdom; and stretched out the heavens by his underStanding; who hath made all things in number, weight and measure; that is, by exact wisdom. The wife works of God are the proper object of our praife; and this is a day proper for the work of praise and thanksgiving. Now under the gospel, since Chrift was clearly revealed, we have new matter of praise and thanksgiving; but as God has given us Chrift, fo he hath given us beings. We are not so to remember our Redeemer, as to forget our Creator. The goodness, and power, and wisdom of God, which appears in the creation of the world, ought still to be matter of admiration and praise to Christians. It is a great fault and neglect among Christians, that they are not more taken up with the works of God, and the contemplation of the wisdom which shines forth in them. We are apt enough to admire other things, little toys; but we overlook this vast curious engine of the world, and the great Artificer of all things. It was truly faid by one, that most men are so stupid and inconsiderate, as to admire the works of a painter or a carver more than the works of God. There are many that have bestowed more eloquence in the praise of a curious picture, or an exact building, than ever they did upon this noble and exquisine frame frame of the world, or any of the other works of God. We can admire the wisdom, and design, and skill of petty artists, and little engineers; but here is wisdom in the beauty and order of the creation. Did we love God, and take pleasure in the effects of his wisdom and power, we should be more in the contemplation of them. Pfal. cxi. 2. The works of the Lord are great, fought out of all them that have pleafure therein: Let us then say with the Pfalmist, O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all; the earth is full of thy riches, &c. More particularly let us, with an humble thankfulness, admire the wisdom which hath made and difposed all things so fitly for our use and service, and with so merciful a respect to us: the light and influence of heaven; the beasts and the fruits of the earth. We find the Pfalmist often praising God upon this account, Pfal. cxxxvi. 4. 5. &c. The wisdom which hath framed these bodies of ours, Pfal. cxxxix. 14, 15, 16. which hath endowed us with knowledge and understanding. Elihu complains, that men were apt to overlook these great blessings of God, Job xxxv. 10, 11, 12. But none faith, Where is God my maker, who giveth songs in the night? who teacheth us more than the beasts of earth, and maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven. There they cry, but none giveth answer, because of the pride of evil men. 3. Use. Trust the wisdom of God, which made the world to govern it, and the affairs of it; and the wisdom which hath framed thy body in so curious and exquifite a manner, and formed thy spirit within thee, and hath made so many creatures with reference to thy necessity and comfort, trust him for thy future provifion. Matth. vi. 25. I say unto you, take no thought for your lives, what ye shall eat, &c. Is not the life more than meat? and the body than raiment? He hath given us our fouls; he hath breathed into us the breath of life, and made these bodies without our care and thought; he hath done the greater, will he not do the less? When thou art ready anxiously and folicitoufly to say, what shall I : I do for the neceffaries of life? Consider whence thou didst receive thy life, who made this body of thine; thou mayest be assured, that the wisdom which hath created these, considered how to fupply them; the wisdom of God knew that you would want all these, and hath accordingly provided for them, there. fore fear not. : SERMON CXXXVIII. The wisdom of God in his providence. IPETER V. 7. i Cafting all your care upon him, for he careth for you. A Mongit the several duties which, towards the conclufion of this epistle, the Apostle exhorts Christians to, this is one, not to be over-much folicitous and concerned about what may befal us, but to refer ourselves to the providence of God, which takes care of us. In speaking to this argument, I shall, I. Confider the nature of the duty here required, which is to caft our care upon God. II. The argument used to perfuade us to it: Because he careth for us. I. For the nature of the duty here required. The word μέριμνα fignifies an anxious care about events, a care that is accompanied with trouble and disquiet of mind about what may befal us; about the good that we hope for and defire, or about the evil which we fear may come upon us. This the Apostle exhorts us to throw off; and to leave to the providence af God, and his care, all those events which we are apt apt to be so sollicitous and disquieted about. The expression seems to be taken out of Pfal. lv. 22. Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee. Now that we may not mistake our duty in this matter, I shall shew what is not here meant by casting all our care upon God; and then what is meant by it. The Apostle doth not here intend to take men off from a provident care and diligence about the concernments of this life; this is not only contrary to reason, but to many express precepts and passages of fcripture, wherein diligence is recommended to us, and the blessing of God, and the good success of our affairs promised thereto; wherein we are commanded to provide for those of our family, which cannot be done without some fort of care; and wherein slothfulness and negligence are condemned, and threatened with poverty: so that this is not to caft our care upon God, to take no care of ourselves, to use no diligence and endeavour for the obtaining of the good which we defire, and the prevention of the evil we fear; this is to tempt the providence of God, and to cast that burden upon him, which he expects we should bear ourselves. But by casting our care upon God, the Apostle intends these two things : 1. That after all prudent care and diligence have been used by us, we should not be farther folicitous, nor trouble ourselves about the event of things, which, when we have done all we can, will be out of our power. And this certainly is our Saviour's meaning, when he bids us take no care for the morrow. When we have done what is fit for us for the present to do, we should not disquiet and torment ourselves about the issue and event of things. 2. Casting our care upon God, implies, that we should refer the issue of things to his providence, which is continually vigilant over us, and knows how to difpose all things to the best; entirely confiding in his wisdom and goodness, that he will order all things for our good, and in that confidence resolying to reft fatisfied |