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Chap. 8. Fathers wife counfel. In all his fufferings he fully acquicfced in his Fathers pleasure, faying, Not my will, but thine be done.

Further, we may obferve, That the Saints have ever owned a Providence watching over the injuries of men. God fent me, faith Jofeph: The Lord hath taken away, faith Job: The Lord bid him curse, faith David: Thou haft ordained them for judgment, faith Habakkuk of the Chaldees. Still they look up to the hand of Providence in fuch events, exercising themfelves in holy fear, faith, patience, prayer towards God. Were there not a Providence, what should the Saints do? which way could they turn themselves for comfort? in a storm of Perfecution what doth their fear do? it terminates not on man but God, and that upon very good reason; because man is but, as Attila called himself, Flagellum Dei, the staff or rod in the hand of God the great Moderator: but if there be no fuch thing as Providence, the staff is no longer in Gods hand, but in mans; he may do what he pleafes. Hence in fuch a cafe it looks like a piece of reasonable Idolatry to fear man who determines the event; and like a piece of reafonless piety to fear God, who doth just nothing at all: and what doth their faith do? they fly under the Almighty shadow, and fix their faith as a rare engine, upon that fingu lar Providence, which runs towards them in a more than ordinary sweetness through the Covenant of Grace in this posture they stand as fecure, as if by Divine art they could remove the troublous Earth into a quieter ubi,or at least be untroubled in the troubles of it. But if there be no Providence, what can they do? their shadow is departed, their faith which

may

may not take so low a center as earth or man, hath Chap. 8. no Providence or place in Heaven to faften it felf upon, it being irrational to ftay on the mercy or power of him who doth juft nothing in fuch events; Faith now is no more it felf but a dream or fancy about fome Providence or invifible hand which is not: and what fhall their patience do? in fuch cases they use to lay themselves down at Gods feet, as Lambs not opening their mouths; or elfe fpeaking low, and as it were out of the duft of creature-vileness, in fome fuch fubmiffive terms as thofe of Ely, It is the Lord, Tet him do what feemeth him good; an excellent pofture for a creature under the great Governour! But if he govern not, patience is no more it felf; neither under man, a meer fellow-creature, fhould it be in fo low a pofture: it is a Grace which can live no-where but under Providence. The taking away of Providence ruins patience in the very foundation, no less than the taking away of precepts doth obedience. And what can their prayer do? it can unlock Heaven, and by importuning the Governour of the World do great things: but if God rule not, it is but a meer infignificant things no tolerable account can be given, why in fuch cases they fhould addrefs themselves to him who is no Moderator. Thus we fee that the Do&rine of Providence is of great moment to the Graces of the Saints. I fhall conclude all with the pious words of two Emperours; the one is Mauritius, who feeing his Wife and Children murder'd, faid, Juftus es, Domine, jufta judicia tua. The other is Maximili an, who in the time of Pope Julius the fecond, ex-preffed his thoughts touching Providence thus, Deus aterne! nifi vigilares, quàm malè effet mundo, quem regimus.

Chap. 8. regimus nos? ego mifer. venator, & ebriofus ille ac fceleratus Julius?

There being a Divine Providence, fuch as spreads it felf over all things, what acknowledgments.and.adorations should be paid to it? it upholds and directs all things, it stoops down to worms and hairs; it governs the great things of the Church and the World; it afcertains the moft cafual events; it rules over the .freeft agents; nay, it reduces fin it self, the most horrible of ataxies into order;it brings light out of darknefs, order out of confufion, good out of evil; it leaves nihil inordinatum in univerfo, nothing fimply totally inordinate in all the World. O how should we hang and depend upon it! our purposes should all have that pious condition, If the Lord will, we will do this or that, Jam. 4. 15. Our motto should be, nikil fine Deo,nothing without Providence. In all our ways we should look up and wait for the good hand of God to direct and profper us, without which vanity takes us,and all comes to nothing. In our converses with men we fhould look above them to him who fits at the stern and rules: Do they do us good? let us remember the fountain is above, man is but the channel;not the leaft good drops from them,but what was distilled out of them by Providence. Jacob faith, That he faw Efaus face as the face of God, Gen. 33. 10. Little of God was to be found in Efan, yet in his kindness Jacob fpied out a beam of the Divine Goodnefs and favour. Do they deal ill with us? let us confider no more of their malice or wrath can iffue forth upon us than Providence will fuffer, the remainder fhall be restrained and kept: back in their verbal reproaches and obloquies let us fay with David, the

Lord

Lord hath bid him curfe. In their real injuries and Chap. 8. oppreffions, let us fay with Job, the Lord hath taken away; ftill our eyes fhould be lifted up above inftruments to that wife Providence which orders all. In all the great affairs of the Church and the World let us ftill hold to this, the Lord reigneth, Pfal. 93. 1. Providence governs the World, and all in it: herefies and bloody perfecutions may break out as a flood, yet Truth fhall ftand, and the Church built upon it. In a word, feeing God is univerfal Governour, we should fear him in every place, eye him in every work, fubmit to him in every event, depend upon him in every eftate, and glorifie him in all his administrations. This is indeed to confefs his Kingdom which ruleth over all, and practically to own his Providence, which fweetly and ftrongly difpofes all things to his own Praise and Glory.

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Chap. 9.

CHAP. IX.

The Doctrine of Original fin, the great moment of it. Adam's fin imputed to us. The proof of it from Scripture. Adam's capacity. Adam's righteousness. Obje&ions answered. Our inherent pravity. The proof of it from Scripture. The experience of our hearts. The actual fins in the world. The doctrine of Original fin manifefted from Chrifts extraordinary Conception.His Headship oppofed to Adam's, from the inftitation of Baptifm. The wickedness of the Jews in crucifying of Chrift. The purchase of Regeneration and Salvation made by Chrift. A fhort improvement of this Do

&rine.

IN

N the next place I fhall proceed to consider Original fin, the Doctrine of which is very momentous. The Pfalmift in the fourteenth Pfalm notably fets forth the corrupt eftate of man by nature; and again, he fets it forth in the 53. Pfal. almost in the fame words, pointing out to us the great neceffity and utility of this Doctrine, which admirably tends to unMoll. Com. in deceive and deliver us from that fascinating opinion of our own righteousness and worthiness, which too much charms the hearts of all men; and withal to prepare and make us ready to accept a cure from Christ, and his regenerating Grace. This is a moft neDe peccat.Or. ceffary fundamental Doctrine. St. Austin speaking of lib, 2. cap.24. Adam and Chrift, faith, In horum duorum hominum caufa proprie fides Chriftiana confiftit: the Christian faith stands in the knowledg of thofe two men ; the

Pfal, 53.

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