may do provided we be called to it and be sure it is so but to call any Man an Hypocrite who makes an outward profession of Religion and whose external Conversation is unblameable this is to judge a Man in a matter of which thou canst have no Evidence this is to ascend into Heaven and step into the Throne of God and to be like the most high for he even he only knows the hearts of the children of men IV. From God's Knowledge of Future Events we may learn 1. The Vanity of Astrology and all other Arts that pretend to foretell future Events things that depend on the Will of Free Agents The vanity of these Arts hath been sufficiently shewn by Learned Men from the Weakness and Uncertainty of the Principles they rely upon I shall only for the present take notice that it contradicts this Principle of Religon that God only knows future events From prudent Collections and Observations probable Conjectures may be made of what will happen in some Cases but there are no certain Prospective-Glasses with which we can see Future Events but Divine Revelation therefore whoeever takes upon him to foretell Future Events without Divine Revelation he arrogates to himself that which is the Prerogative of the Deity and God delights to chastise the Curiosity and cross the Predictions of these vain Pretenders Isa 44.24 25. Thus saith the Lord that formed thee I am the Lord that maketh all things that stretcheth forth the Heavens alone that spreadeth abroad the Earth by my self that frustrateth the tokens of the Lyars and maketh Diviners mad that turneth wise-men backward and maketh their knowledge foolish As he also in Scripture threatens those who consult them and rely upon them Those who go to Astrologers or Wise Men as they call them to know their Fortunes and enquire of the Events of their Life they forsake God and betake themselves to lying vanities 2. Refer future Things to God who only knows them trust him with all Events cast your care upon him When you have used your best Prudence and Wisdom and Diligence for your Supply and Security for the future leave the rest to God for your Heavenly Father knoweth both your Wants and your Dangers When we are over-solicitous about future Things we take God's proper Work out of his Hands and usurp the Government of the World Why do we take too much upon us We are but of yesterday and know not what will be to morrow Mind your present Duty and Work and leave Events to God Secret things belong to the Lord our God but those things that are revealed to us and our Children for ever to do all the words of his law Deut. 29.29 Do your Duty commit the rest to God in well-doing In this World we are in a mixt condition which is made up of Good and Evil of Happiness and Misery what is good for us to know is revealed that is our Duty but in great Wisdom and pity to Mankind God hath concealed and hid the rest from us He hath hid from us the Good that may happen to us because the best things of this World are but shallow and empty and if we could see them before-hand we should prevent our selves in the enjoyment of them and eat out the sweetness which is in them by delightful fore-thoughts of them And he hath concealed future Evils from us lest we should torment our selves with the fearful expectation of them Prudens futuri temporis exitum Caliginosâ Nocte premit Deus Ridetque si mortalis ultra fas trepidat What a folly is it to make your selves miserable with fear of being so ante miserias miser Use all wise means to prevent what you fear and then be satisfied and be as happy as you can 'till Misery come go not forth to meet it sufficient for the day is the evil thereof do not anticipate the Evils of to morrow and take present possession of an Evil to come cast your care upon him who hath promised to care for you SERMON VII The Wisdom Glory and Soveraignty of God JUDE 25. To the only wise God our Saviour be glory and Majesty dominion and Power now and ever I AM treating of the Attributes of God particularly of those which relate to the Divine Understanding his Knowledge and Wisdom The Knowledge of God only implies his bare Understanding of things but his Wisdom implies the skill of ordering and disposing things to the best Ends and Purposes the skill of making and governing and administring all things in Number Weight and Measure The Knowledge of God rather considers things absolutely and in themselves The Wisdom of God considers rather the Respects and Relations of Things looks upon things under the Notion of Means and Ends accordingly I described them thus The Knowledge of God is a Perfect comprehension of the Nature of all things with all their Qualities Powers and Circumstances The Wisdom of God is a perfect Comprehension of the Respects and Relations of things one to another of their Harmony and Opposition their fitness and unfitness to such and such Ends. I have largely spoken to the First of these I come now to the Second The Wisdom of God in general together with his Majesty and Soveraignty as they are here joyned together I begin with the First That God is the only wise God In handling of this I shall shew 1. In what sense God may be said to be the only wise God 2. Prove that this Attribute belongs to God 1. In what sense God may be said to be the only wise God For answer to this we may take Notice that there are some Perfections of God that are incommunicable to the Creatures as his Independency and Eternity These God only possesseth and they are to be attributed to him alone God only is independent and eternal But there are other Perfections which are communicable that is which the Creatures may in some measure and degree partake of as Knowledge and Wisdom and Goodness and Justice and Power and the like yet these the Scriptures do peculiarly attribute to God not that they are altogether incommunicable to the Creature but that they belong to God in such a peculiar and Divine manner as doth shut out the Creature from any claim or Title to them in that degree and Perfection wherein God possesseth them I shall give you some instances of this His goodness this is reserved to God alone Matth. 19.17 Why callest thou me good there is none good but one that is God His power and immortality 1 Tim. 6.15 16. Who is the blessed and only potentate who only hath immortality His Wisdom 1 Tim. 1.17 The only wise God Rom. 16.27 To God only wise be Glory His Holiness Rev. 15.14 For thou only art Holy The transcendent degree and singularity of these Divine Perfections which are communicable is beyond what we are able to conceive so that altho' the Creatures partake of them yet in that Degree and
pride of evil men 3. Vse 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 exquisite 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 Provision Mat. 6.25 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 rayment He hath given us our Souls 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 solicitously to say what shall I do for the necessaries of Life Consider whence thou didst receive thy Life who made this Body of thine thou mayst be assur'd that the Wisdom which hath created these consider'd how to supply them the Wisdom of God knew that you would want all these and hath accordingly provided for them therefore fear not SERMON VIII The Wisdom of God in his Providence Preached at Kensington I PETER V. 7 Casting all your care upon him for he careth for you AMONGST the several Duties which towards the conclusion of this Epistle the Apostle exhorts Christians to this is one not to be over-much solicitous and concerned about what may befal us but to refer our selves to the providence of God which takes care of us In speaking to this Argument I shall I. Consider the nature of the Duty here required which is to cast our care upon God II. The Argument used to perswade us to it because he careth for us I. For the nature of the Duty here required The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies an anxious care about Events a care that is accompanied with trouble and disquiet of Mind about what may befall us about the good that we hope for and desire 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 of God and his Care all those Events which we are apt to be so solicitous and disquieted about The Expression seems to be taken out of Psal 55.22 cast thy burthen 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 hereby 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 Scripture 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 sort of care and wherein Sloathfulness and Negligence are condemned and threatned with Poverty so that this is not to cast our care upon God to take no care of our selves to use no diligence and endeavour for the obtaining of the Good which we desire and the prevention of the Evil we fear this is to tempt the Providence of God and to cast that Burthen upon him which he expects we should bear our selves 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 solicitous nor trouble our selves 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 our selves 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 dispose 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 resolving to rest satisfied and contented with the disposals of his Providence whatever they be You see then the nature of the Duty which the Apostle here exhorts to viz. That after all prudent Care and Diligence have been used on our parts we should not be disquieted in our Minds about the event of things but leave them to God who hath the Care of us and of all our Concernments Which is the II. Thing I proposed to speak to and which I intend chiefly to insist upon viz. The Argument which the Apostle here useth to perswade us to this Duty of casting all our care upon God because it is he that careth for us and this implies in it these two things 1. In general That the Providence of God governs the World and concerns it self in the Affairs of Men and disposeth of all Events that happen to us 2. More particularly That this Providence is peculiarly concerned for good Men and that he takes a special care of them and their Concerns He careth for you The Apostle speaks this to them not only as Men but as Christians And thus the Psalmist from whom these words seem to be taken does apply and limit this Promise Cast thy burthen upon the Lord and he shall sustain thee he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved 1. That God taketh care of us implies in general That the Providence of God governs the World and concerns it self in the Affairs of Men and disposeth of all Events that happen to us I shall not now enter upon a large Proof of the Providence of God that is too large and intricate an Argument for a short Discourse and hath a great deal of nicety and difficulty in it and tho' it be a fundamental Principle of Religion and hath been almost generally entertained and believed by Mankind and that upon very good Reason yet because the vindication of many particular appearances of Providence does in a great measure depend upon a full view and comprehension of the whole design therefore we must necessarily refer our selves for full satisfaction as to several difficulties and Objections to the other World when we shall see God's works together with the relation of every part to the whole design and then many particular Passages which may now seem odd and crooked as we look upon them by themselves will in Relation to the whole appear to have a great deal of Reason and Regularity in them Therefore I shall at present only briefly and in the general shew that it is very credible that there is a wise Providence that governs the World and interests it self in the affairs of Men and disposeth of all Events which happen to us And I desire it may be observed
wander up and down in dry and desart places seeking rest but finding none Were the whole World calm about a Man and did it not make the least attempt upon him were he free from the fears of Divine Vengeance yet he could not be satisfied with himself there is something within him that would not let him be at rest but would tear him from his own Foundation and Consistency so that when we are once broken off from God the sense of inward want doth stimulate and force us to seek our contentment else-where So that nothing but Holiness which re-unites us to God and restores our Souls to their primitive and original state can make us happy and give peace and rest to our Souls And this is the constant voice and language of Scripture and the tenour of the Bible Acquaint thy self with God that thou mayest be at Peace Job 22.21 Light is sown for the righteous and gladness for the upright in heart Psal 97.11 The work of righteousness is peace and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever Isa 32.17 Seeing then Holiness is so high a Perfection and so great a Happiness let these Arguments prevail with us to aspire after this temper that as he who hath called us is holy so we may be holy in all manner of Conversation because it is written be ye holy for I am holy ADVERTISEMENT THE Discourses of the Divine Goodness being more than can be contain'd in this Volume are together with those of the remaining Attributes reserv'd for the next But to complete this here follows a single Sermon upon another Subject SERMON XIV Of doing Good Being a Spital Sermon Preach'd at Christ-Church on Easter-Tuesday April 14th 1691. GALAT. VI. 9 10. Let us not be weary in well doing forin due season we shall reap if we faint not As we have therefore opportunity let us do good unto all Men especially unto them who are of the houshold of faith THE Apostle in these Words recommends unto us a great and comprehensive Duty the doing of good concerning which the Text offers these five particulars to our Consideration I. The Nature of the Duty it self which is called well doing v. 9. and doing good v. 10. II. The extent of this Duty in respect of it's Object which is all Mankind Let us do good unto all men especially unto them who are of the houshold of faith III. The measure of it as we have opportunity IV. Our unwearied perseverance in it let us not be weary in well doing V. The Argument and Encouragement to it because in due season we shall reap if we faint not Therefore as we have opportunity let us do good c. I. I will consider the Nature of the Duty it self of well doing and doing good And this I shall explain to you as briefly as I can by considering the extent of the Act of doing Good and the Excellency of it And 1. The extent of the Act. It comprehends in it all those ways wherein we may be beneficial and useful to one another It reaches not only to the Bodies of Men but to their Souls that Better and more Excellent part of our selves and is conversant in all those Ways and Kinds whereby we may serve the temporal or spiritual Good of our Neighbour and promote either his present or his future and eternal Happiness To instruct the Ignorant or reduce those that are in Error to turn the disobedient to the wisdom of the just and reclaim those that are engaged in any evil Course by good Counsel and seasonable Admonition and by prudent and kind Reproof to resolve and satisfie the doubting Mind to confirm the weak to heal the broken-hearted and to comfort the melancholy and troubled Spirits These are the noblest Ways of Charity because they are conversant about the Souls of Men and tend to procure and promote their eternal Felicity And then to feed the hungry to cloath the naked release the imprisoned to redeem the Captives and to vindicate those who are injur'd and oppress'd in their Persons or Estates or Reputation to repair those who are ruin'd in their Fortunes and in a word to relieve and comfort those who are in any kind of Calamity or Distress All these are but the several Branches and Instances of this great Duty here in the Text of doing good tho' it hath in this place a more particular respect to the Charitable supply of those who are in Want and Necessity and therefore with a more particular regard to that I shall Discourse of it at this time You see the extent of the Duty We will in the 2. Place briefly say something of the Ecellency of it which will appear if we consider That it is the imitation of the highest Excellency and Perfection To do Good is to be like God who is Good and doth good and it is to be like to him in that which he esteems his greatest Glory It is to be like the Son of God who when he was pleased to take our Nature upon him and live here below and to dwell amongst us went about doing good And it is to be like the blessed Angels the highest Rank and Order of God's Creatures whose great Employment it is to be ministring Spirits for the good of Men. So that for a Man to be kind and helpful and beneficial to others is to be a good Angel and a Saviour and a kind of God too It is an Argument of a great and noble and generous Mind to extend our Thoughts and Cares to the concernments of others and to employ our interest and power and endeavours for their benefit and advantage Whereas a low and mean and narrow Spirit is contracted and shrivel'd up within it self and cares only for its own things without any regard to the good and happiness of others It is the most noble work in the World because that inclination of Mind which prompts us to do good is the very temper and disposition of Happiness Solomon after all his Experience of worldly greatness and pleasure at last pitched upon this as the great felicity of humane Life and the only good Use that is to be made of a prosperous and plentiful Fortune Eccles 3.12 I know says he speaking of Riches that there is no good in them but for a Man to rejoice and do good in his life And certainly the best way to take joy in an Estate is to do good with it and a greater and wiser than Solomon has said it even he who is the Power and Wisdom of God has said it that it is a more blessed thing to give than to receive Consider farther That this is one of the great and substantial parts of Religion and next to the love and honour which we pay to Almighty God the most acceptable Service that we can do to him it is one Table of the Law and next the First and great Commandment of loving the Lord our God and very
like to it And the second is like unto it says our Saviour Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy self like to it in the excellency of it and equal to it in the necessary obligation of it For this Commandment says St. John 1 Epist Chap. 4. v. 21 we have from him that he who loveth God love his Brother also The First Commandment indeed excels in the dignity of the Object because it enjoins the Love of God but the second seems to have the advantage in the reality of its Effects for the Love of God consists in our acknowledgment and honour of him but our righteousness and goodness extends not to him we can do him no real Benefit and Advantage But our love to Men is really Useful and Beneficial to them for which reason God is contented in many cases that the external Honour and Worship which he requires of us by his positive Commands should give way to that Natural Duty of Love and Mercy which we owe to one another I will have mercy says God in the Prophet Amos and not sacrifice And to shew how great a value God puts upon this Duty he hath made it the very Testimony of our love to himself and for want of it hath declared that he will reject all our other Professions and Testimonies of love to him as false and insincere Who so hath this worlds good saith St. John 1 Epist 3.17 and seeth his Brother have need and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him how dwelleth the love of God in him And again Chap. 4. ver 20. If any man say I love God and hateth his Brother he is a lyar for he that loveth not his Brother whom he hath seen how can he love God whom he hath not seen You see the Duty here recommended both in the Extent and in the Excellency of it let us do good I proceed to consider in the II. Place the Extent of this Duty in respect of its Object which is all Mankind but more especially Christians those that are of the same Faith and Religion Let us do good unto all men especially unto those that are of the houshold of Faith So that the Object about which this Duty is conversant is very large and takes in all Mankind let us do good unto all men The Jews confined their Love and Kindness to their own Kindred and Nation and because they were prohibited familiarity with Idolatrous Nations and were enjoined to maintain a perpetual Enmity with Amalek and the seven Nations of Canaan whom God had cast out before them and devoted to Ruin they looked upon themselves as perfectly discharg'd from all Obligation of Kindness to the rest of Mankind And yet it is certain that they were expresly enjoin'd by their Law to be kind to Strangers because they themselves had been Strangers in the Land of Egypt But our Saviour hath restored this Law of Love and Charity to its Natural and Original extent and hath declared every one that is of the same nature with our selves to be our Neighbour and our Brother and that he is to be treated by us accordingly when ever he stands in need of our kindness and help and to shew that none are out of the compass of our Charity he hath expresly commanded us to extend it to those who of all others can least pretend to it even our Enemies and Persecutors So that if the Question be about the extent of our Charity in general these two things are plainly enjoined by the Christian Religion 1. Negatively That we should not hate or bear ill-will to any man or do him any harm or mischief Love worketh no Evil to his Neighbour saith the Apostle Rom. 13.10 And this negative Charity every Man may exercise towards all Men without Exception and that equally because it does not signifie any positive Act but only that we abstain from Enmity and Hatred from Injury and Revenge which it is in every Man's power by the Grace of God and the due care and government of himself to do 2. Positively The Law of Charity requires that we should bear an universal good-will to all Men and wish every Man's happiness and pray for it as sincerely as we wish and pray for our own and if we be sincere in our Wishes and Prayers for the good of others we shall be so in our Endeavours to procure and promote it But the great difficulty is as to the exercise of our Charity and the real Expressions and Effects of it in doing good to others which is the Duty here meant in the Text and as I told you before does more particularly relate to the Relief of those who are in Want and Necessity And the reason of the difficulty is because no Man can do good to all in this kind if he would it not being possible for any Man to come to the knowledge of every man's Necessity and Distress and if he could no man's Ability can possibly reach to the supply and the relief of all men's Wants And indeed this limitation the Text gives to this Duty as we have opportunity says the Apostle let us do good unto all men which either signifies as occasion is offered or as we have Ability of doing or both as I shall shew afterwards So that it being impossible to exercise this Charity to all Men that stand in need of it 't is necessary to make a difference and to use Prudence and Discretion in the Choice of the most fit and proper Objects We do not know the Wants of all men and therefore the bounds of our Knowledge do of necessity limit our Charity within a certain compass and of those whom we do know we can relieve but a small part for want of Ability from whence it follows that tho' a man were never so Charitably disposed yet he must of necessity set some Rules to himself for the management of his Charity to the best advantage What those Rules are cannot minutely and nicely be determined when all is done much must be left to every man's prudence and discretion upon a full view and consideration of the Case before him and all the Circumstances of it but yet such general Rules may be given as may serve for the direction of our Practice in most Cases and for the rest every man's prudence as well as it can must determine the matter And the Rules which I shall give shall be these First Cases of Extremity ought to take the first place and do for that time challenge precedence of all other Considerations If a Person be in great and present Distress and his Necessity so urgent that if he be not immediately relieved he must perish this is so violent a Case and calls so loud for present help that there is no resisting of it whatever the Person be though a perfect Stranger to us though most unworthy though the greatest Enemy we have in the World yet the greatness of his Distress does so strongly plead
Goodness of God is then greatest when it is exercised towards the evil and unthankful those who are so far from deserving it that they have given great and just Provocations to the contrary And this affection and temper of Mind which is so remarkable in God towards the unworthy and unthankful Sons of Men our Saviour recommends to our imitation here in the Text. Be ye therefore Perfect even as your Father which is in Heaven is Perfect Be ye therefore this Particle of inference therefore hath a plain relation to something spoken before and if we look back to v. 44. we shall find our Saviour there enjoyning his Disciples to love their Enemies to bless them that curse them to do good to them that hate them and to pray for those that despightfully use them and persecute them And by what other argument doth he inforce the Practice of this difficult Duty but by telling us that this is to be like God to be good to the evil and unthankful v. 45. That ye may be the Children of your Heavenly Father who maketh his Sun to rise on the evil and the good and his Rain to fall on the just and on the unjust God is good to all and exerciseth great Mercy and Patitience even towards the evil and unjust And then he concludes that if Perfection it self be fit to be a Pattern we should labour after these Qualities Be ye therefore Perfect even as your Father which is in Heaven is Perfect So that though the universal Perfection of the Divine Nature be here supposed yet the Attributes of his Goodness and Mercy and Patience are here particularly pointed at and propounded to us for our Pattern and the Precept of imitating the Divine Perfection is more especially to be understood of those Perfections which our Saviour had been discoursâ—â—â— of before viz. the Goodness and Mercy of God And that this is undoubtedly so is evident from St. Luke's rendring this Precept Ch. 6.36 Be ye therefore 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 benefici ready to do good full of kindness and benignity merciful as your Father which is in Heaven is merciful that is endeavour you to be such as I have described God to be And this St. Matthew calls Perfection because the Goodness of God is his great Perfection and the Glory of the Divine Nature that which reflects a lustre and beauty upon all his other Attributes and takes off the terrour of them From all which it is plain what those Perfections of the Divine Nature are which our Saviour doth here particularly recommend to our imitation I come now in the IV. and last place To clear the true meaning of this Precept and to shew that the Duty here required and intended by our Saviour when he says Be ye perfect as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect is not impossible to us And to this purpose be pleased to consider these three or four things 1. That our imitation of God is certainly restrained to the communicable Perfections of God and such as Creatures are capable of as I have shewn before For it is so far from being a Duty to affect or attempt to be like God in his peculiar Perfections that it was probably the Sin of the Apostate Angels 2. Our imitation of the Divine Perfections which are communicable to Creatures is likewise to be restrain'd to such degrees of these Perfections as Creatures are capable of For no Creature can ever be so perfectly Good as God is nor partake of any other Excellency in that transcendent degree in which the Divine Nature is possest of it 3. But there is no manner of inconvenience in having a Pattern propounded to us of so great Perfection as is above our reach to attain to and there may be great Advantages in it The way to excel in any kind is optima quaeque exempla ad imitandum proponere to propose the highest and most perfect Examples to our imitation No Man can write after too perfect and good a Copy and though he can never reach the Perfection of it yet he is like to learn more than by one less perfect He that aims at the Heavens which yet he is sure to come short of is like to shoot higher than he that aims at a mark within his reach Besides that the excellency of the Pattern as it leaves room for continual improvement so it kindles Ambition and makes Men strain and contend to the utmost to do better And though he can never hope to equal the Example before him yet he will endeavour to come as near it as he can So that a perfect Pattern is no hindrance but an advantage rather to our improvement in any kind 4. If any thing can be supposed to be our Duty which is absolutely beyond our Power a Precept of this nature may with as much reason be supposed to be so as any thing that can be instanc'd in Because in such a case if we do our best and be continnually pressing forward towards the Mark though we can never reach it yet we do very commendably and whatever the law may require to try and raise our Obedience yet in all equitable Interpretation such a Will and Endeavour will be acceptable with God for the Deed. For if the Perfection of the Law do really exceed our Ability and be beyond the possibility of our Performance the assurance we have of God's Goodness will sufficiently secure us from any danger and prejudice upon on that account And we may reasonably presume that to do all we can towards the fulfilling of this Precept will be as acceptable to God and as beneficial to our selves as if our Power had been greater and we had perfectly fulfill'd it If our Heavenly Father to try the readiness and chearfulness of our Obedience bid us do that which he knows we cannot do though we can do something towards it we may be sure that he will be very well pleased when he sees that in obedience to him we have done all that we could And we may in this case reason as our Saviour does If we that are evil would deal thus with our Children how much more shall our Heavenly Father The Goodness of God signifies very little if it does not signifie this that in any instance of real and unquestionable Goodness God is much better than any Father upon Earth However at the worst that wherein we fall short of the Perfection of the Law may be supplyed on our part by an humble acknowledgment of our own Weakness and Imperfection and on God's part by Mercy and Forgiveness for the sake of the perfect Obedience of our blessed Redeemer This is the least benefit we can expect in this case from the Grace and Mercy and Equity of the Gospel 5. And lastly which will fully clear this matter this Precept doth not oblige us to come up to a perfect equality with the Pattern propounded to us but only imports a vigorous imitation
they do but serve God in their Families and go to Church and behave themselves there with Devotion and Reverence and at certain seasons receive the Sacrament they are truly religious and very good Christians when all this while they take no care to improve themselves in real Goodness by an inward conformity of their Minds to God and the real reformation and amendment of their Lives by mortifying their Lusts and subduing their Appetites and Passions to the Laws of Reason and Religion by putting on as the elect of God bowels of kindness by being true and faithful righteous and just patient and merciful as their Father which is in heaven is so and by forbearing one another in case of provocation and forgiving one another even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven us by purifying themselves as God is pure and endeavouring to be holy in all manner of conversation as he who hath called them is holy when all this while they are as covetous and earthly minded and to serve their covetousness will strain a point of Truth or Justice and hardly do an act of Charity in their whole lives but what is extorted from them by meer importunity or some such urgent necessity in point of decency and reputation that for shame of the World they know not how to avoid it when their Passions are as fierce and ungoverned their Hearts as full of Gall and Bitterness their Tongues of slander and evil speaking their Humours as proud and surly and censorious as theirs can be who are openly profane and seem to neglect and despise all Religion And yet because they serve God as they call it and make an external appearance of Piety and Devotion are good Church-men and attend upon the Ordinances of God they think they have discharged the whole business of Religion admirably well and are very good children of God and in a state of great grace and favour with him Whereas the performance of all these Duties and the use of all these Means separated from that which is the great End of Religion the Conformity of our selves to God in those Qualities and Dispositions which I have mention'd is so far from finding acceptance with God that it is an abomination to him So God every where declares in Scripture telling us that the prayer of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord and that he disdains to be praised by men of unhallowed lips and lives and that unless with the praises we offer to him we order our conversation aright we shall not see the salvation of God With what contempt does he speak of this formal and external Religion without the power of it upon our hearts and lives To what purpose is the multitude of your Sacrifices to me Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of Rams and ten thousands of rivers of Oil he hath shewed thee O man what is good and what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God Is not this the fast which I have chosen to break the bands of wickedness and to let the oppressed go free to deal thy bread to the hungry and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thine house when thou seest the naked that thou cover him and that thou hide not thy self from thine own flesh Nor is it hearing of the Word that will avail us unless we be doers of it Blessed are they says our Saviour that hear the word of God and keep it He that heareth these sayings of mine and doth them shall be likened to a wise man who hath built his house upon a rock Nor will bare receiving of the Sacrament recommend us to God but performing the Obligation which thereby we take upon our selves to obstain from all sin and wickedness otherwise we tread under foot the Son of God and prophane the blood of the Covenant whereby we should be sanctified as if it were an unholy thing Can any man think that to be Religion which has no effect upon the lives of men which does not teach them to govern their words and actions who reads those plain words of St. James If any man among you seem to be religious and bridleth not his tongue but deceiveth his own heart that man's Religion is vain Pure Religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this to visit the fatherless and widdows in their affliction and to keep himself unspotted from the world When Religion produceth these real Effects then the Means of Religion do truly serve the End of it and we are not only hearers of the Word but doers of it and shall be blessed in our deed So that as there is an obligation upon us to use the Means of Religion which God hath instituted with great care and conscience so we should chiefly mind that which is the End of all Religion which is to make us partakers of a Divine Nature and make us like to God especially in those amiable and excellent Qualities which are the glory and beauty of the Divine Nature his Benignity and Goodness his Mercy and Patience These because they are the primary Perfections of God are the principal Duties both of Natural and Revealed Religion and of an eternal and indispensable Obligation because they have their foundation in the Nature of God which is fixt and unalterable And all positive Institutions when they come in competition with these are to stoop and vail to them Natural and Moral Duties especially those of Goodness and Mercy and Charity are so strongly bound upon us that nothing in any reveal'd Religion can cancel the Obligation of them or justifie the violation of these great and indispensable Laws Our Saviour in his Religion has declar'd nothing to the prejudice of them but on the contrary has straitned our Obligation to them as much as is possible The Son of man came not to destroy mens lives but to save them so that they know not what manner of spirit they are of who think to please God by hating men who are made after the image of God by killing one another to do him good service who to advance his Cause and Religion in the World will break through all the Obligations of Nature and Civil Society undermine Government and disturb the Peace of Mankind Whereas our Saviour did not by any thing in his Religion design to alter the Civil Government of the World or to lessen and diminish the Rights of Princes or to set men loose from Allegiance to them or to make Treason and Rebellion bloody Wars and barbarous Massacres lawful for the propagating of his faith He had as any one would imagin as much Power as the Pope but yet he deposed no Princes nor excommunicated and discharged their Subjects from their Fidelity and Obedience to them for their opposition to his Religion he hath assumed no such Power to himself By what Authority then does his Vicar do these things and
in the entrance upon this Argument that the handling of this Question concerning Providence doth suppose the Being of God and that he made the World as Principles already known and granted before we come to dispute of his Providence for it would be in vain to argue about the Providence of God with those who question his Being and whether the World was made by him But supposing these two Principles that God is and that he made the World it is very credible that he should take care of the Government of it and especially of one of the noblest Parts of it the race of Mankind For we cannot believe that he who employed so much Power and Wisdom in the raising of this great and magnificent Pile and furnishing every part of it with such variety of Creatures so exquisitely and so wisely fitted for the use and service of one another should so soon as he had perfected it forsake his own Workmanship and take no farther care of it Especially considering that it is no trouble and disquiet to him either to take notice of what is done here below or to interpose for the regulating of any Disorders that may happen for Infinite Knowledge and Wisdom and Power can do this with all imaginable ease knows all things and can do all things without any disturbance of its own happiness And this hath always been the common Apprehension of Mankind that God knows all things and observes every thing that is done in the World and when he pleaseth interposes in the affairs of it 'T is true indeed the Epicureans did deny that God either made the World or governs it and therefore wise Men always doubted whether they did indeed believe the Being of God or not but being unwilling to incur the danger of so odious an Opinion they were content for fashion sake to own his Being provided they might take away the best and most substantial Arguments for the proof oâ— it The rest of the Philosophers owned a Providence at least a general Providence that took care of great and more important Matters but did not descend to a constant and particular care of every Person and every little Event belonging to them Interdum curiosus singulorum says Tully now and then when he pleases he takes care of particular Persons and their lesser concernments but many of them thought that God did generally neglect the smaller and more inconsiderable affairs of the World Dii minora negligunt neque agelloâ— singulorum viticulas persequuntur The Gods overlook smaller matters and do not mind every Mans little Field and Vine Such imperfect apprehensions had they of the Providence of God And tho' they would seem hereby to consult the Dignity and ease of the Deity by exempting him from the care and trouble of lesser Matters yet in truth and reality they cast a dishonourable reflection upon him as if it were a burthen to Infinite Knowledge and Power and Goodness to take care of every thing But now Divine Revelation hath put this matter out of doubt by assuring us of God's particular care of all Persons and Events Our Saviour tells us that God's Providence extends to the least and most inconsiderable Creatures to the grass of the Field which to day is and to morrow is cast into the Oven Mat. 6.30 To the fowls of the air and that to the least of them even to the Sparrows two of which are sold for a Farthing and yet not one of them falleth to the ground without God Mat. 10.29 Much more doth the Providence of God extend to Men which are Creatures far more considerable and to the very least thing that belongs to us to the very hairs of our head which are all numbered the lowest instance that can be thought on So that the light of Nature owns a more general Providence and Divine Revelation hath rectified those imperfect apprehensions which Men had about it and hath satisfied us that it extends it self to all particulars and even to the least things and most inconsiderable And this is no ways incredible considering the Infinite Perfection of the Divine Nature in respect of which God can with as much and greater ease take care of every thing than we can do of any one thing and the belief of this is the great foundation of Religion Men therefore pray to God for the good they want and to be freed from the evils they fear because they believe that he always regards and hears them Men therefore make Conscience of their Duty because they believe God observes them and will reward and punish their good and evil Deeds So that take away the Providence of God and we pull down one of the main Pillars upon which Religion stands we rob our selves of one of the greatest Comforts and best Refuges in the Afflictions and Calamities of this life and of all our hopes of happiness in the next And tho' there be many disorders in the World especially in the Affairs of Men the most irregular and intractable Piece of God's Creation yet this is far from being a sufficient Objection against the Providence of God if we consider that God made Man a free Creature and capable of abusing his Liberty and intends this present life for a state of trial in order to another where Men shall receive the just recompence of their Actions here And then if we consider that many of the evils and disorders which God permits to happen are capable of being over-ruled by him to a greater good and are made many times to serve wise and excellent purposes and that the Providence of God does sometimes visibly and remarkably interpose for the prevention and remedy of great Disorders and Confusions I say considering all this it is no blemish to the Divine Providence to permit many of those Irregularities which are in the World and suffer the Fates of good and bad Men to be so cross and unequal in this life For supposing another life after this wherein Men shall come to an Account and every Man shall receive the just recompence of his Actions there will then be a proper Season and full Opportunity of seting all things streight and no Man shall have reason then either to glory in his wickedness or to complain of his sufferings in this World This is the first that God's Providence governs the World and interests it self in the affairs of Men and disposeth of all Events that happens to them and this is a very good Reason why we should cast our particular cares upon him who hath undertaken the Government of the whole 2. The Providence of God is more peculiarly concerned for good Men and he takes a more particular and especial care of them The Apostle speaks this to Christians cast all your care on him for he careth for you And this David limits in a more peculiar manner to good Men cast thy burthen upon the Lord and he will sustain thee he shall never suffer the
righteous to be moved The Providence of God many times preserves good Men from those Evils which happen to others and by a peculiar and remarkable interposition rescues them out of those Calamities which it suffers others to fall into and God many times blesseth good Men with remarkable prosperity and success in their Affairs To which purpose there are innumerable Declarations and Promises in the Holy Scriptures so well known that I shall not trouble you with the recital of them Notwithstanding which it cannot de denyed that good Men fall into many Evils and are harrassed with great Afflictions in this World but then the Providence of God usually ordereth it so that they are armed with great Patience to bear them and find great comfort and support under them and make better use and improvement of them than others so that one way or other they turn to their advantage So the Apostle assures us Rom. 8.28 We know that all things work together for good to them that love God All the Evils and Afflictions which happen to good men conspire one way or other to the promoting of their happiness many times in this World to be sure they make a great addition to it in the other So the same Apostle tels us 2 Cor. 4.17 18. Our light affliction which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory whilst we look not c. And can we say God's Providence neglects us when he rewards our temporal Sufferings with eternal Glory when through many hardships and tribulations he at last brings us to a Kingdom Was Joseph neglected by God when by a great deal of hard usage and a long imprisonment he was raised to the highest dignity in a great Kingdom Or rather was not the Providence of God very remarkable towards him in making those Sufferings so many Steps to his Glory and the occasion of his Advancement And is not God's Providence towards good men as kind and as remarkable in bringing them to an infinitely better and more glorious Kingdom by Tribulations and Sufferings and making our light Afflictions which are but for a moment to work for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory Thus you see what is implyed in God's care of us in general that he governs the World and disposeth all Events and particularly that he is peculiarly concerned for good Men and takes a more especial care of them Let us now see of what force this Consideration is to perswade to the Duty enjoyned in the Text to cast all our care upon God that is after all prudent Care and Diligence hath been used on our part not to be anxious and solicitous about the event of things but to leave that to God Now this consideration that God cares for us should be an Argument to us to cast all our care upon him upon these two Accounts 1. Because if God cares for us our Concernments are in the best and safest hands 2. Because all our Anxiety and Solicitude will do us no good 1. Because if God cares for us our Concernments are in the best and safest hands and where we should desire to have them infinitely safer than under any Care and Conduct of our own And this ought to be a great satisfaction to our Minds and to free us from all disquieting Thoughts for if God undertakes the care of us then are we sure that nothing shall happen to us but by the disposal or permission of Infinite Wisdom and Goodness There are many things indeed which to us seem Chance and Accident but in respect of God they are Providence and Design they may appear to happen by chance or may proceed from the ill-will and malicious intent of second Causes but they are all wisely designed and as they are appointed or permitted by God they are the result of the deepest Counsel and the greatest Goodness And can we wish that we and our Concernments should be in better or safer hands than of Infinite Power and Wisdom in conjunction with Infinite Love and Goodness And if we be careful to do our Duty and to demean our selves towards God as we ought we may rest assured of his Love and Care of us and if we do in good earnest believe the Providence of God we cannot but think that he hath a peculiar regard to those that love and serve him and that he will take a peculiar care of their Concernments and that he can and will dispose them better for us than we could manage them our selves if we were left to our selves and our Affairs were put into the hands of our own Counsel Put the case we had the entire ordering and disposal of our selves what were reasonable for us to do in this case We would surely according to our best wisdom and judgment do the best we could for our selves and when upon experience of our own manifold ignorance and weakness we had found our weightiest Affairs and Designs frequently to miscarry for want of foresight or power or skill to obviate and prevent the infinite Hazards and Disappointments which humane Affairs are liable to we should then look about us and if we knew any Person much wiser and more powerful than our selves who we believed did heartily love us and wish well to us we would out of kindness to our selves ask his Counsel in our Affairs and crave his assistance and if we could prevail with him to undertake the care of our Concernments we would commit them all to his Conduct and Government in confidence of his great Wisdom and Good-will to us Now God is such an one he loves us as well as we do our selves and desires our Happiness as much and knows infinitely better than we do what means are most conducing to it and will most effectually secure it And every Man that believes thus of God as every Man must do that believes there is a God for these are the natural and essential Notions which all Men have of the Deity I say every Man that believes thus of God the first thing he would do if he knew not already that God had voluntarily and of his own accord undertaken the care of him and of his Affairs would be to apply himself to God and to beseech him with all earnestness and importunity that he would permit him to refer his Concernments to him and be pleased to undertake the care of them and he would without any demur or difficulty give up himself wholly to him to guide and govern him and to dispose of him as to him should seem best Now if God have prevented us herein and without our Desire taken this care upon himself we ought to rejoice in it as the greatest happiness that could possibly have befallen us and we should without any farther care and anxiety using our own best diligence and studying to please him chearfully leave our selves in his Hands with the greatest confidence and security that he
because it is no fault of theirs that we do not know them no their Wants may be real notwithstanding that especially when their Extremity seems great we ought not to stand upon too rigorous a Proof and Evidence of it but should accept of a fair probability Seventhly Those who suffer for the Cause of Religion and are stript of all for the sake of it ought to have a great Precedence in our Charity to most other cases And this of late hath been and still is the case of many among us who have fled hither for Refuge from the Tyranny and Cruelty of their Persecutors and have been by a most extraordinary Charity of the whole Nation more than once extended to them most seasonably reliev'd but especially by the Bounty of this great City whose Liberality upon these Occasions hath been beyond all Example and even all belief And I have often thought that this very thing next to the Mercy and Goodness of Almighty God hath had a particular Influence upon our Preservation and Deliverance from those terrible Calamities which were just ready to break in upon us and were we not so stupidly insensible of this great Deliverance which God hath wrought for us and so horribly unthankful to him and to the happy Instruments of it might still be a means to continue the Favour of God to us And what cause have we to thank God who hath allotted to us this more blessed and more merciful part to give and not to receive to be free from Persecution our selves that we might give Refuge and Relief to those that are persecuted III. We must consider the Measure of our Charity 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which our Translation renders as we have Opportunity others as we have Ability So that this Expression may refer either to the Occasions of our Charity or to the Season of it or to the Proportion and Degree of it 1. It may refer to the Occasions of our Charity as we have Opportunity let us do good that is according as the Occasions of doing good shall present themselves to us so often as an Opportunity is offer'd And this is an Argument of a very good and charitable Disposition gladly to lay hold of the occasions of doing good as it were to meet Opportunities when they are a coming towards us This forwardness of Mind in the work of Charity the Apostle commends in the Corinthians 2 Cor. 9.2 I know the forwardness of your minds for which I boast of you to them of Macedonia And this he requires of all Christians Tit. 3.10 That they should be ready to every good work And 1 Tim. 6.18 That we be ready to distribute willing to communicate Some are very ready to decline these Opportunities and to get out of the way of them and when they thrust themselves upon them and they cannot avoid them they do what they do grudgingly and not with a willing mind 2. It may refer to the Season of this Duty 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 while we have time 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whilst this Life lasts so Grotius does understand and interpret this Phrase and then the Apostle does hereby intimate to them the uncertainty of their Lives especially in those times of Persecution And this Consideration holds in all times in some degree that our Lives are short and uncertain that it is but a little while that we can serve God in this kind namely while we are in this World in this Vale of Misery and Wants In the next World there will be no occasion no Opportunity for it we shall then have nothing to do but to reap the Reward of the good we have done in this Life and to receive that blessed Sentence from the Mouth of the great Judge of the World Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdom prepared for you before the foundation of the world For I was hungry and ye gave me to eat c. And Euge bone serve Well done good and faithfull Servant thou hast been faithfull in a little and I will make thee Ruler over much God wil then declare his Bounty and Goodness to us and open those inexhaustible Treasures of Glory and Happiness which all good Men shall partake of in proportion to the good which they have done in this World Or else 3. Which I take to be the most probable meaning of this Phrase It may refer to the Degree of this Duty in proportion to our Ability and Estate as we have Ability let us do good unto all Men. And this the Phrase will bear as Learned Men have observ'd and it is very reasonable to take in this Sense at least as part of the meaning of it either exprest or imply'd For without this we cannot exercise Charity tho' there were never so many Occasions for it and then this Precept will be of the same Importance with that of the Son of Sirach Ecclus. 35.10 Give unto the most high according as he hath enriched thee and with that Counsel Tob. 4.7 Give Alms 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 according to thy Substance and 8. v. If thou hast abundance give Alms accordingly And this may be reasonably expected from us for where-ever his Providence gives a Man an Estate it is but in Trust for certain Uses and Purposes among which Charity and Alms is the chief And we must be accountable to him whether we have disposed it faithfully to the Ends for which it was committed to us It is an easie thing with him to level Mens Estates and to give every Man a Competency but he does on purpose suffer things to be distributed so unequally to try and exercise the Virtues of Men in several ways the Faith and Patience of the Poor the Contentedness of those in a middle Condition the Charity and Bounty of the Rich. And in truth Wealth and Riches that is an Estate above what sufficeth our real Occasions and Necessities is in no other sense a Blessing than as it is an Opportunity put into our Hands by the Providence of God of doing more good and if we do not faithfully employ it to this end it is but a Temptation and a Snare and the rust of our Silver and our Gold will be a witness against us and we do but heap up Treasures together against the last Day But what Proportion our Charity ought to bear to our Estates I shall not undertake to determine The Circumstances of Men have too much variety in them to admit of any certain Rule some may do well and others may do better every Man as God hath put into his Heart and according to his Belief of the recompence which shall be made at the resurrection of the just I shall only say in general that if there be first a free and willing Mind that will make a Man charitable to his Power For the liberal Man will devise liberal things And we cannot propose a better Pattern to our selves in
this kind than the King and Queen who are as they ought to be but as it very seldom happens the most bright and shining Examples of this greatest of all Graces and Virtues Charity and Compassion to the poor and persecuted I proceed to the IV. Thing considerable in the Text viz. Our unwearied Perseverance in this work of doing good let us not be weary in well-doing After we have done some few Acts of Charity yea tho' they should be very considerable we must not sit down and say we have done enough There will still be new Objects new Occasions new Opportunities for the exercise of our Charity springing up and presenting themselves to us Let us never think that we can do enough in the way of doing good The best and the happiest Beings are most constant and unweary'd in this work of doing good The holy Angels of God are continually employed in ministring for the good of those who shall be Heirs of Salvation And the Son of God when he appear'd in our Nature and dwelt among us that he might be a perfect and familiar Example to us of all Holiness and Virtue he went about doing good to the Bodies and to the Souls of Men. How diligent and unweary'd was he in this work It was his Employment and his Pleasure his Meat and Drink the Joy and the Life of his Life And God himself tho' he is infinitely and perfectly good in himself yet he still continues to do good and is never weary of this blessed work It is the Nature and the Perfection and the Felicity of God himself and how can we be weary of that work which is an Imitation of the highest Excellency and Perfection and the very Essence of Happiness V. And lastly Here is the Argument and Encouragement to the chearful discharge of this Duty because in due season we shall reap if we faint not therefore as we have opportunity let us do good unto all Men. In due season we shall reap that is sooner or later in this World or in the other we shall receive the full reward of our well-doing And now I have explain'd this Duty to you as plainly and briefly as I could the hardest part of my Task is yet behind to perswade Men to the practice of it and to this purpose I shall only insist upon the promise in the Text be not weary in well-doing for in due season ye shall reap if ye faint not We shall reap the pleasure and satisfaction of it in our own Minds and all the other mighty Advantages of it in this World and the vast and unspeakable Reward of it in the other First We shall reap the Pleasure and Satisfaction of it in our own Minds and there is no sensual Pleasure that is comparable to the delight of Doing good This Cato makes his boast of as the great Comfort and Joy of his old Age Conscientia bene actae vitae multorumque benefactorum recordatio jucundissima The remembrance of a well spent Life and of many Benefits and Kindnesses done by us to others is one of the most pleasant things in the World Sensual Pleasures soon die and vanish but that is not the worst of them they leave a Sting behind them and when the Pleasure is gone nothing remains but Guilt and Trouble and Repentance whereas the Reflection upon any good we have done is a perpetual Spring of Peace and Pleasure to us and no Trouble and Bitterness ensues upon it the Thoughts of it lye even and easy in our Minds and so often as it comes to our Remembrance it ministers fresh Comfort to us Secondly We shall likewise reap other mighty Advantages by it in this World It is the way to derive a lasting Blessing upon our Estates What we give in Alms and Charity is consecrated to God and is one of the chiefest and most acceptable Sacrifices in the Christian Religion so the Apostle tells us Heb. 13.16 To do good and to communicate forget not for with such Sacrifices God is well pleased It is like the first-Fruits under the Law which being dedicated and offered up to God did derive a Blessing upon their whole Harvest And it procures for us also the Blessings and Prayers of those to whom we extend our Charity their Blessing I say upon us and ours and all that we have and is it a small thing in our eye to have as Job speaks the Blessing of them who are ready to perish to come upon us The fervent Prayer of the poor for us availeth much for God hath a special regard to the Prayers of the destitute and his Ear is open to their cry Few Men have Faith to believe it but certainly Charity is a great security to us in the times of Evil and that not only from the special Promise and Providence of God which is engaged to preserve those from want who are ready to relieve the Necessity of others Prov. 11.25 The liberal Soul shall be made fat and he that watereth shall be watered also himself and Prov. 28.27 He that giveth to the poor shall not lack he shall not be afraid in the evil time and in the days of Dearth he shall be satisfiyed says the Psalmist But besides the Promise and Providence of God our Charity and Alms are likewise a great security to us from the Nature and Reason of the thing it self Whosoever is charitable to others does wisely bespeak the Charity and Kindness of others for himself against the day of necessity for there is nothing that makes a Man more and surer Friends than our Bounty this will plead for us and stand our Friend in our greatest Troubles and Dangers For a good Man saith the Apostle that is for one that is ready to oblige others by great Kindnesses and Benefits one would even dare to die It has sometimes happened that the Obligation which a man hath laid upon others by a chearful and seasonable Charity hath in time of Danger and Extremity done him more kindness than all his Estate could do for him Alms saith the Wise Man hath delivered from Death And in times of publick Distress and when we are beset with cruel and powerful Enemies who if God were not on our side would swallow as up quick the publick Charity oâ— a Nation does many times prove its best Safeguard and Shield There is a most remarkable Passage to this purpose Ecclus. 29.11 12 13. Lay up thy Treasure according to the commandment of the most high and it shall bring thee more profit than Gold shut up thine alms in thy Store-house and it shall deliver thee from all affliction it shall fight for thee against thy enemies more than a mighty Shield and a strong Spear And of this I doubt not but we of this Nation by the great Mercy and Goodness of Almighty God have had happy experience in our late wonderful Deliverance under the Conduct and Valour of one of the best and bravest of Princes and