ration of this point you have now been reading. For if God fhall fix that truth in your hearts by faith, then,

Firft, Inftead of running with others into the fame excess of riot, you will keep yourselves pure and unfpotted in an unclean defiling world. You will answer all temptations to fin, as Jofeph did, Gen. xxxix. 9. "How can I do this great wickedness, and fin against "God?"

Secondly, Inftead of joining with others in fin, you will mourn for the fins of others. You will fay with David, Pfal. cxx. 5. "Woe is "me, that I fojourn in Mefhec, that I dwell in the tents of Kedar!” Your foul, like Lot's, will be vexed from day to day with the filthy converfations of the wicked, 2 Pet. i. 17, 18.

Thirdly, Inftead of returning to your country with a wounded name and conscience, you will return full of inward comfort and peace, and to the joy of all your friends and relations.

Fourthly, To conclude, You will give fair encouragements to the expectations of all that know you, of becoming useful instruments of the glory of God, and benefit of the world in your generation. O therefore beg of God that this truth may be deeply engraven upon your hearts.

THE

SUCCESSFUL SEAMAN.

SERMON IV.

DEUT. viii. 17, 18.

And thou fay in thine heart, My power, and the might of my hand bath gotten me this wealth; but thou shalt remember the Lord thy God; for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth.

TH

THIS context contains a neceffary and very seasonable caution to the Ifraelites, who were now paffing out of their wilderness ftraits into the rich and fruitful land of Canaan, which abounded with all earthly bleffings and comforts. Now, when the Lord was about to give them poffeffion of this good land, he firft gives them fome wholesome caveats to prevent the abuse of these mercies. He knew how apt they were to forget him in a profperous eftate, and afcribe all their comfortable fruitions to their own prudence and valour: to prevent this, he reminds them of their former eftate, and warns them about their future estate: he reminds them of their former condition, whilft they fubfifted upon his immediate care in the wilderness; verfes 15, 16. "Who led them through the great and terrible wil

"dernefs, wherein were fiery ferpents and fcorpions, and drought, "where there was no water?" here were their dangers and wants. "Who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint, who fed "thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not :" here were their fupplies in these ftraits. "That he might humble "thee, and that he might prove thee to do thee good at thy latter "end" here was the wife and gracious defign of God in all this.

But wherein did God humble them by feeding them with manna? Were they not fhrewdly humbled (faith Mr Gurnal, vol. II. p. 345. an ingenious author) to be fed with fuch a dainty dish, which had God for its cook, and was called angels food for its delicacy? It was not the meanness of the fare, but the manner of having it, by which God intended to humble them. The food was excellent, but they had it from hand to mouth; fo that God kept the key of their cupboard, they stood to his immediate allowance: this was an humbling way. But now the difpenfation of Providence was juft upon the change; they were going to a land, where they thould eat bread

without scarcenefs," verfe 9. and have their comforts in a more "natural, stated, and fenfible way; and now would be the danger. Therefore,

He not only reminds them of their former eftate, but in this text cautions them about their future eftate, "Say not in thy heart, my "power, or the might of my hand, hath gotten me this wealth," &c. In this caution we have these two things efpecially to obferve:

I. The falfe caufe of their profperity removed.

II. The true and proper cause thereof afferted.

1. The falfe caufe removed: "Not their power, or the might of "their hand." That is faid to be gotten by the hand, which is gotten by our wifdom, as well as labour: head-work, and wit-work, are hand-work in the fenfe of this text. It cannot be denied but they were a great people, prudent, industrious, and had an excellent polity among them: but yet, though they had all thefe natural external means of enriching themfelves in that fertile foil, God will, by no means, allow them to afcribe their fuccefs and wealth to any of thefe caufes for, alas! what are all thefe without his bleffing?

:

2. The true and proper cause afferted: "It is the Lord that gives "thee power to get wealth" i. e. All thy care, labour, wifdom, ftrength, fignify nothing without him; it is not your pains, but his bleffing, that makes your designs to profper: and therefore in all your profperity, ftill acknowledge him as the Author of all. Hence note, Doct. That the profperity and fuccefs of our affairs are not to be ascriked to our own abilities, but to the blessing of God upon our lawful endeavours.

We find two proverbs, in one chapter, that feem to differ in the account they give of this matter; and indeed they do but seem so. It is faid, Prov. x. 4. "The hand of the diligent maketh rich;" afcribing riches and profperity to human diligence. And verse 22.

Faith must not fifle industry, nor industry blind faith.

"The blefling of the Lord it maketh rich." But these two are not really opposed to each other, but the one fubordinated to the other. The diligent hand, with God's bleffing upon it, makes rich; neither of them alone, but both conjoined. A diligent hand cannot make rich without God's bleffing; and God's blefling doth not ordinarily make rich without a diligent hand. And these two are put together in their proper places, 1 Chron. xxii. 16. « Up and be doing, and the Lord be with "you." It is a vain pretence for any man to fay, If the Lord be with me, I may fit ftill, and do nothing; and a wicked one to fay, If I am up and doing, I fhall profper whether God be with me or not. The fluggard would fain profper without diligence, and the atheist hopes to profper by his diligence alone: but Christians expect their profperity from God's bleffing, in the way of honest diligence.

It is a common thing for men to benumb their own arms, and make them as dead and ufelefs by leaning too much upon them: fo it is in a moral as well as a natural way: all the prudence and pains in the world avail nothing without God. So faith the Pfalmift, in Pfal. cxxvii. 2. "It is in vain for you to rife up early, to fit up late, "to eat the bread of forrow, for fo he giveth his beloved fleep."

A man would think, he that rifes betimes fares hard, works hard, fits up late, cannot but be a thriving man; and probably he would be fo, if God's bleffing did fecond his diligence and frugality. But the Pfalmift intends it of diligence in a feparate fenfe; a diligent hand working alone, and then it is all in vain, and ferves only to confirm the common proverb-Early up and never the nearer. Labour without God cannot profper; and labour against God will not only deftroy itself, but the labourer too.

Now, that this is really fo as the doctrine ftates it, I fhall endeavour to make evident.

1. By a general demonftration of the whole matter.

2. By a particular enumeration of the ordinary caufes and means of all fuccefs, which are all dependent upon the Lord's bleffing.

First, That fuccefs in bufinefs is not in the power of our hand, but in the hand of Providence to difpofe it as he pleafes, and to whom he pleafes, appears by this,That Providence fometimes blafts and fruftrates the most prudent and well-laid defigns of men; and in the mean time fucceeds and profpers more weak and improbable ones.' What is more common in the obfervation of all ages than this? One man fhall toil as in the fire, for very vanity; run to and fro, plot and study all the ways in the world to get an estate, dený back and belly, and all will not do: he fhall never be able to attain what he strives after, but his designs fhall be ftill fruitlefs. Another hath neither a head to contrive, nor a hand to labour as the former hath nor doth he torture his brains about it, but manages his affairs VOL. V. No. 44.

3 D

with lefs judgment, and fpends fewer thoughts about it, and yet fuccefs follows it. It shall be caft in upon fome, who as they did not, fo, confidering the weak management of their bufinefs, had little rational encouragement to expect it; and fly from others, who induftriously purfue it in the prudent choice and diligent ufe of all the proper means of attaining it. And this is not only an obfervation grounded upon our own experience, but confirmed by the wifeft of men; Ecclef. ix. II. "I returned, and faw under the fun, that the "race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the frong; neither yet "bread to the wife, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all." If two men run for a prize, reafon gives the prize to the swifteft: if two armies join battle, reafon gives the victory to the ftrongeft: if two men undertake a defign to get wealth, reafon gives the riches to the wifeft; yea, but Providence fometimes difpofes it quite contrary to the verdict of reafon, and the prize is given to the floweft, the victory to the weakest, the eftate to the more fhallow capacity; fo that thefe events feem to fall out rather cafually than anfwerably, to the means employed about them. And who that obferves this, can doubt but it is the hand of God's providence, and not our diligence that difpofes the iffues of these things? For why doth God fo often step out of the ordinary way, and crofs his hands, as old Ifrael did, laying the right hand upon the younger, and the left upon the elder: I mean, give fuccefs to the weak, and difappointment to the ftrong, but to convince us of this great truth which I bere bring it to confirm? And because men are so apt to facrifice to their own prudence, and difown providence, therefore it fometimes makes the cafe much plainner than fo; it denies riches to the industrious, that live for no other end but to get them, and cafts them in upon thofe that feek them not at all, and indeed are fcarcely competent for bufinefs. Ariftides, one of the wifeft men of his age, was yet ftill fo poor, that Plutarch faid, it brought a flur upon justice herself, as if the were not able ot maintain her followers. Socrates, one of the prime Grecian fages, was fo exceeding poor, that Apuleius could not but note, " That " poverty was become an inmate with philofophy*;" when in the mean time, the empty, fhallow, and foolish, fhall come up with it, and overtake it without any pains at all, which others profecute in the moft rational courfe all their life, and all to no purpose. Thus it was

noted of pope Clement V. None more rich, none more foolish. † And this is the ground of that proverb, Fortuna favet fatis: Fortune favours fools. Though the author of that proverb, in nick-naming providence, thewed as little wisdom as he that is the fubject of it.

By all which, this point is in the general made good: it is not induftry, but providence, that directs and commands the success of

* Paupertas eft philofophica vernacula.

Epitom. Hift. Gallis.

bufinefs: It being much in the attaining of riches, as the apoftle faith it is in the obtaining of righteoufnefs: "The Gentiles, which fol"lowed not after righteoufnefs, have attained to righteoufnefs; but "Ifrael, which followed after the law of righteoufnefs, hath not at"tained to the law of righteoufnefs," Rom ix. 30, 31. So it is here, for the vindication of the honour of providence, which men would fcarcely own, if it did not thus baffle them fometimes: they that follow the world cannot obtain it; and they attain it that follow it not; that all men may fee their good is not in their own hand; and left man, who is not only a covetous creature, and would engross all to himself, but as proud as covetous, fhould afcribe all to himself. But this will farther appear,

Secondly, By a particular enumeration of the ordinary causes and means of all fuccefs in bufinefs, which are all dependent things upon a higher caufe.

Now, if we proceed upon a rational acccount, we shall find five things required to the fuccefs of our affairs: and that I may speak to your capacity, I will inftance in that affair of merchandizing in which you are employed, as the hands that execute what the heads of your merchants contrive; and will fhew you, that neither their wifdom in contriving, nor your skill and industry in managing their defigns, can profper without the leave and bleffing of Divine Providence. Let us therefore confider what is neceffary to the raising of an estate in that way of employment; and you will find, that in a rational and ordinary way, fuccefs cannot be expected, unlefs,

1. The defigns and projects be prudently laid, and moulded with much confideration and forefight. An error here is like an error in the first concoction, which is not to be rectified afterwards. "The "wisdom of the prudent (faith Solomon) is to understand his way;" that is, to underftand, and thoroughly to confider, the particular defigns and bufinefs in which he is to engage. Rafhnefs and inconfideratenefs here hath been the ruin of many thoufand enterprizes. And if a defign be never fo well laid, yet,

2. No fuccefs in bufinefs can be rationally expected, except there be an election of proper inftruments to manage it. The beft laid defign in the world may be spoiled by an ill management. If the perfons employed be either incapable or unfaithful, what but trouble and difappointment can be expected?" He that fendeth a meffage "(faith Solomon) by the hands of a fool, cutteth off the legs, and "drinketh damage." It is as if a man fhould fend him on his bufinefs that had no legs to go; i. e. one that is incompetent for the bufinefs he is employed about. All that a man shall reap from fuch a defign is damage: and if the inftrument employed be never fo capable, yet if he be not also faithful to the truft committed to him, all is loft; and fuch is the depth of deceit in the hearts of men, that few or none can be fecured against it. Solomon was the wifest of men, and yet fatally miscarried in this matter; "He feeing the young man