of the Spirit was engaged to go to Jerusalem Acts 20. 22. After a clear revelation of the mind of God to him in that matter how many difficult and discouraging Providences beâ—ell him in his way The Disciples at Tyre said to him by the Spirit though in that they â—ollowed their own spirits that he should not go to Jerusalem Acts 21. 4. Then at Cesarea he met Agabus a Prophet who told him what should beâ—all him when he came thither Chap. 21. 10 11. all this will not disswade him And after all this how passionately do the Brethren beseech him to decline that journey Ver. 12 13. Yet knowing his rule and resolving to be faithful to it he puts by all and proceeds in his journey Well then Providence in concurrence with the Word may give some encouragement to us in our way but no testimony of Providence is to be accepted against the Word If Scripture and Conscience tell you such a way is sinful you may not venture upon it how many opportunities and encouragements soever Providence may suffer to offer themselves to you for they are only permitted for your Tryal not your encouragement Take this therefore for a sure Rule That no Providence can legitimate or justifie any moral evil Nor will it be a plea before God for any man to say The Providence of God gave me encouragement to do it though the Word gave me none If thereâ—ore in doubtful cases you would discover Gods will govern your selves in your search after it by these Rules Get the true fear of God upon your hearts be really afraid of offending him God will not hide his mind from such a â—oul Psal. 25. 14. The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him and he will shew them his Covenant Study the Word more and the concerns and interests of the World less The Word is a light to your feet Psal. 119. 105. i. e. it hath a discovering and directive usefulness as to all duties to be done and dangers to be avoided it is the great Oracle at which you are to enquire treasure up its rules in your hearts and you will walk safely Psal. 119. 11. thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee Reduce what you know into practice and you shall know what is your duty to practise Joh. 7. 17. If any man do his will he shall know of the doctrine Psal. 111. 10. A good understanding have all they that do thereafter Pray for illumination and direction in the way that you should go beg the Lord to guide you in straits and that he would not suffer you to fall into sin This was the holy practice of Ezra chap. 8. 21. Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river Ahava that we might afflict our selves before our God to seek of him a right way for us and for our little ones and for all our substance And this being done â—ollow Providence so far as it agrees with the word and no farther There is no use to be made of Providence against the word but in subserviency to it And there are two excellent uses of Providence in subserviency to the word 1. Providences as they follow Promises and Prayer are Evidences of God's faithfulness in their Accomplishment When David languished under a disease and his Enemies began to triumph in the hopes of his downfall he prays Psal. 41. 10. that God would be merciful to him and raise him up and by that he saith he knew the Lord favoured him because his Enemy did not triumph over him ver 11. this Providence he looked upon as a token for good as elsewhere he calls it Psal. 86. 17. And 2. Providences give us loud calls to those duties which the Command lays upon us and tell us when we are actually and presently under the obligation of the Commands as to the performance of them Thus when sad Providences befall the Church or our selves they call us to humiliation and let us know that then the command upon us to humble our selves at the feet of God is in force upon us Micah 6. 9. The Lords voice cryeth to the City and the man of wisdom shall see thy name hear the rod and who hath appointed it The Rod hath a voice and what doth it speak Why now is the time to humble your selves under the mighty hand of God This is the day of trouble in which God hath bid you to call upon him And â— contra when comfortable Providences refresh us it now informs us this is the time to rejoyce in God according to the rule Eccles. 7. 14. in the day of prosperiâ—y be joyful These precepts bind always but not to always It 's our duty therefore and our wisdom to distinguish seasons and know the proper duties of every season and Providence is an Index that points them out to us Thus of the first Case The Second Case HOw may a Christian be supported in waiting upon God whil'st Providence delays the performance of the mercies to him for which he hath long pray'd and waited Two things are supposed in this Case 1. That Providence may linger and delay the performance of those mercies to us that we have long waited and prayed for 2. That during that delay and suspension our hearts and hopes may be very low and ready to fail Providence may long delay the performance of those mercies we have prayed and waited upon God for For the right understanding of this know that there is a two-fold term or season fixed for the performance of mercy to us One by the Lord our God in whose hand times and seasons are Acts 1. 7. Another by our selves who raise up our own expectations of mercies sometimes meerly through the eagerness of our desires after them and sometimes upon uncertain conjectural grounds and appearances of encouragement that lye before us Now nothing can be more precise certain and punctual than is the performance of mercy at the time and season which God hath appointed how long soever it be or how many obstacles soever lye in the way of it There was a time prefixed by God himself for the performance of that Promise of Israel's deliverance out of Egypt and it 's said Exod. 12. 41. At the end of the four hundred and thirty years even the self same day it came to pass that all the host of the Lord went out of the Land of Egypt Compare this with Acts 7. 17. and there you have the ground and reason why their deliverance was not nor could be delayed one day longer because the time of the Promise was now come Promises like a pregnant woman must accomplish their appointed months and when they have so done Providence will Midwife the mercies they go big withal into the world and not one of them shall miscarry But for the seasons which are of our own â—ixing and appointment as God is not tyed to them so his Providences are not
happiness in the world to come This performance of Providence for you doth very much concern your present comfort in this world All the rooms in this great house are not alike pleasant and commodious for the Inhabitants of it You read Psal. 74. 20. of the dark places of the Earth which are full of the habitatJonr of cruelty and many such dismal places are found in the habitable Earth What a vast tract of the world lies as a waste Wilderness Suppose your Mothers had brought you forth in America among the Salvage IndJans who herd together as brute beasts are scorched with heat and starved with cold being naked destitute and defenceless How poor miserable and unprovided of Earthly comforts and accommodations are many Millions of the Inhabitants of this world What mercies do you enjoy in respect of the amaenity fertility temperature and civility of the place of your habitation What is it but a Garden inclosed out of a Wilderness I may without partiality or vanity say God hath even upon temporal accounts provided you with one of the healthfullest pleasantest and in all respects the best furnished room in all the great house of this world Hear what our own Chronicler saith of it It is the fortunate Island the Paradise of pleasure the Garden of God whose Valleys are like Eden whose Hills are as Lebanon whose Springs are as Pisgah whose Rivers are as Jordan whose Wall is the Ocean and whose Defence is the Lord Jehovah You are here provided of necessary and comfortable accommodations for your bodies that a great part of the world are unacquainted with It is not with the poorest among us as it is said to be with the poor RussJans whose poverty pinches and bites with such sharp teeth that their pooâ— cry at the doors Give me and cut me give me and kill me Say not The barbarous Nations in this excel you that they possess the Mines of Silver and Gold which it may be you think enough to salve all other inconveniences of life Alas poor Creatures better had it been for them if their Countrey had brought forth Bryers and Thorns instead of Gold Silver and precJous stones for this hath been the occasion of ruining all their other comforts in this world this hath invited their cruel avaritious enemies among them under whose servitude they groan and dye without mercy and thousands of them have chosen death rather than life on the terms they enjoyed it And why might not your lot have fallen there as well as where it is Are not they made of the same clay and endowed with as good a nature as your selves O what a distinction hath Divine Mercy made where Nature made none Consider ungrateful man thou mightest have fallen into some of those Regions where a tainted air frequently cloyes the jaws of death where the Inhabitants differ very little from the Beasts in the manner of their living but God hath provided for thee and given the poorest among us far better accommodations of life than the greatest among them are ordinarily provided with O what hath Providence done for you But all that I have said is very inconsiderable in compaâ—ison with the spiritual mercJes and advantages you here enjoy for your souls Oh this is such an advantageous cast of Providence for you as obliges you to a thankful acknowledgement of it to all Eternity For let us here make but a few suppositions in the case before us and the glory of Providence will shine like a Sun-beam full in your faces 1. Suppose it had been your Lot to have fallen in any of those vast Continents possessed by Pagans and Heathens at this day who bow down to the Stock of a Tree and worship the Host of Heaven This is the case of Millions and Millions of Millions for Pagan Idolaâ—â—rs as that searching Scholar Mr. Briâ—â—wood informs us do not only fill the circumference of nine hundred miles in Europe but almost the one half of Africa more than the half of AsJa and almost the whole of America Oh how deplorable had thy case been if a Pagan Idolatress had brought thee forth and Idolatry had been suckt in with thy Mothers milk then in all probability thou hadst been at this day worshipping Devils and posting with full speed in the direct road to Damnation for these are the people of Gods wrath Jer. 10. 25. Pour out thy fury upon the Heathen that know theâ— not and upon the familJes that call not upon thy name How dreadful is that imprecation against them â—sal 97. 7. which takes hold of them and all that 's theirs Confounded be all they that serve graven Images that boast themselves of Idols 2. Or suppose your Lot had fallen among Mahometans who next to Pagans spread over the greatest tract of the Earth for though ArabJa bred that unclean Bird yet it was not that Cage that could long contain him for not only the ArabJans but the PersJans Turks and Tartars do all bow down their backs under that grand Impostor This poison hath dispersed it self through the veins of AsJa over a great part of Africk even the Circumference of seven thousand miles and stops not there but hath tainted a considerable part of Europe also Had your Lot fallen here O what unhappy men and women had you been notwithstanding the natural amenity and pleasantness of your native soil You had then adored a grand Impostor and dyed in a fools Paradise Instead of Gods lively Oracles you had been as they now are deceived to your eternal ruine with such fond mad and wild dreams as whoso considers would think the Authors had more need of manacles and fetters than arguments or sober answers 3. Or if neither of these had been your Lot but you had been emptied by the womb of Nature into this little spot of the Earth which is ChristJanized by profession but nevertheless for the most part over-run by Popish Idolatry and AntichristJan delusions what unhappy men and women had you been had you suckt a Popish breast For this people are to be the subjects of the VJals of Gods wrath to be poured out successively upon them as you may read Rev. 16. and the Scriptures in round and plain language tell us what their fate must be 2 Thess. 2. 11 12. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusJon that they should belJeve a lye that they all mighâ— be damned who belJeved not the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness Nay you might have fallen into the same Land in which your habitation now is and yet have had no advantage by it as to salvation if he that chose the bounds of your habitations had not also graciously determined the times for you Acts 17. 26. For 4. Suppose your Lot had fallen where it is during the Pagan State of England who for many hundred years were gross and vile idolaters Thick darkness over-spread the people of this Island and as in other Countreys the
Devil was worshipped and his lying Oracles zealously attended upon The shaking of the top of Jupiter's Oak in Dodona the Caldron smitten with the rod in the hand of Jupiter's Image the Lawrell and Fountain in Daphne these were the Ordinances on which the poor deluded Wretches waited So in this Nation they worshipped Idols also the Sun and Moon were adored for Gods with many other abominable Idols which our Ancestors worshipped and whose memorials are not to this day quite obliterated among us 5. Or suppose our Lot had fallen in those later miserable dayes in which Queen Mary sent so many hundreds to Heaven in a fiery Chariot and the poor Protestants skâ—lked up and down in holes and woods to preserve them from Popish Inquisitors who like Blood-hounds hunted up and down through all the Cities Towns and Villages of the Natâ—on to seek out the poor sheep of Christ for a prey But such hath the special care of Providence towards us been that our turn to be brought upon the stage of this World was graciously reserved for better dayes so that if we had had our own option we could not have chosen for our selves as Providence hath We are not only furnished with the best room in this great hoâ—se but before we were put into it it was swept with the beesom of National Reformation from Idolatry yea and washed by the blood of Martyrs from Popish filthiness and adorned with Gospel lights shining in as great lustre in our dayes as ever they did since the Apostles dayes You might have been born in England for many Ages and not have found a ChristJan in it yea and since ChristJanity was here owned and not have met a Protestant in it Oh what an Obligation hath Providence laid you under by such a merciful performance as this for you If you say All this indeed is true but what is this to eternal salvation Do not multitudes that enjoy these priviledges eternally perish notwithstanding them yea and perish with an aggravation of sin and misery beyond other sinners True they do so and it is of very sad consideration that it should be so but yet we cannot deny this to be a very choice and singular mercy to be born in such a Land and at such a Time For let us consider what helps for salvation men here enjoy beyond what they could enjoy had their Lot fallen according to the fore-mentioned suppositions 1. Here we enjoy the ordinary means of salvation which elsewhere men are denyed and cut off from So that if any among the Heathens be saved and brought to Christ it must be in some miraculous or extraordinary way for How shall thâ—y belJeve in him of whom they have not heard and how shall they hear without a Preacher Rom. 10. 14. Alas were there a desire awakened in any of their hearts after a Gospel discovery of salvation which ordinarily is not nor can be rationally supposed yet poor Creatures they might travel from Sea to Sea to hear thâ— Word and nâ—t find it whereas you can hardly miss the opportunities of hearing the Gospel Sermons meet you frequently so that you can scarcely shun or avoid the Ordinances and Instruments of your salvation And is this nothing Christ even forces himself upon us 2. Here in this Age of the World the common prejudices against Christianity are removed by the advantage it hath of a publick profession among the people and protection by the Laws of the Countrey Whereas were your habitation among Jews Mahometans or Heathen Idolaters you would find Christ and ChristJanity the common odJum of the Countrey every one defying and deriding both name and thing and such your selves likely had been if your birth and education had been among them For you may observe that whatever is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 traditionally delivered down from Father to Son every one is fond of and zealous in its defence The Jews Heathens and Mahâ—metans are at this day so tenacious of their errors that with spitting hissing and clapping of hands and all other signs of indignation and abhorrence they chase away all others from among them Is it not then a special mercy to you to be cast into such a Countrey and Age where as a learned Divine observes the true Religion hath the same advantages over every false one as in other Countreys they have over it Here you have the presence of precious Means and the absence of soul-destroying prejudices two signal mercies 3. Here in this Age of the World Christianity bespeaks you assoon as you are capable of any sense or impressions oâ— Religion upon you and so by an happy anticipatJon blocks up the passages by which a false Religion would 〈◊〉 certainly enter Here you â—uck in the first notions and principles of Christianity even with the Mothers milk and certainly such a prepossession is a choice advantage Quo semel est imbuta recens servabit odorem Testa diâ— Train up a Child in the way he should go and when he is old â—e will not depart from it Prov. 22. 6. 4. Here you have or may have the help and assistance of Christians to direct your way resolve your doubts support your burthens and help you through those difficulties that attend the new birth Alas if a poor soul had any beginnings or saint workings and stirrings after Christ and true Religion in many other Countreys the hand of every man would presently be against him and none would be found to relieve assist or encourage as you may see in that Example of Galâ—acJus the nearest relations would in that case prove the greatest Enemies the Countrey would quickly hoot at him as a Monster and cry Away with the Heretick to the Prison or Stake Whether these eventually prove blessings to your souls or no certain I am that in themselves they are singular mercies and helps to salvation that are denyed to Millions besides you So that if Plato when he was near his death could bless God for three things viz. That he was a Man and not a Beast that he was born in Greece and brought up in the time of Socrates much more cause have you to admire Providence that you are Men and not Beasts that you were born in England and brought up in Gospel dayes here This is a Land the Lord hath EspJed for you as the expression is Ezek. 20. 6. and concerning it you have abundant cause to say as in another case the Psalmist doth Psal. 16. 6. The lines are fallen to me in pleasant places and I have a goodly heritage The Third Performance of Providence III. THe next observable Performance of Providence which must be heedfully adverted and weighed is the designatJon of the stock and family out of which we should spring and rise And truly this is of special consideration both as to our temporal and eternal good for whether the families in which we grew up were great or small in Israel whether our
stand strong I shall not be moved the next news he shall hear is of darkness and trouble Psal. 30. 6 7. O how true and faithful do we find these sayings of God to be Who cannot put to his seal and say Thy words are truth The Word assures us that sin is the Cause and Inlet of Affliction and Sorrow and that there is an inseparable connection betwixt them Numb 32. 23. Be sure your sin will find you out i. e. the sad effects and afflictions that follow it shall â—ind you out So Psal. 89. 30 31 32. If his sons forsake my Law I will visit their iniquitJes with rods Enquire now at the mouth of Providence whether this be indeed so according to the reports of the Word Ask but your own Experiences and you shall find that just so Providence hath ordered it all along your way When did you grow into a secure vain carnal frame but you found some rouzing startling Providence sent to awaken you When did you wound your Consciences with guilt and God did not wound you for it in some or other of your beloved enjoyments Nay so ordinary is this with God that from the observations of their own frames and wayes many Christians have fore-boded and preâ—aged troubles at hand I do not say that God never afflicts his people but for their sin for he may do it for their tryal 1 Pet. 4. 12. Nor do I say that God follows every sin with a rod for who then should stand before him Psal. 130. 3. But this I say that it's Gods usual way to visit the sins of his people with rods of affliction and this in mercy to their souls Upon this account it was that the rod of God was upon David in a long succession of troubles upon his Kingdom and family after that great prevarication of his 2 Sam. 12. 10. And if we would carefully search out the seeds and principles of those miseries under which we or ours do groan we should find them to be our own turnings aside from the Lord according to that Jer. 2. 19. and Jer. 4. 18. Have not all these cautions and threatnings of the Word been exactly fulfilled by Providence in your own experience Who can but see the infallible truth of God in all that he hath threatned And no less evident is the truth of the Promises to all that will observe how Providence makes them good every day to us for consider How great security God hath given to his people in the Promises that no man shall lose any thing by self-denyal for his sake He hath told us Mark 10. 29 30. Verily I say unto you there is no man that hath left House or Brethren or Sisters or Father or Mother or Wife or Children or Lands for my sake and the Gospels but he shall receive an hundred fold now in this time houses and Brethren and Sisters and Mothers and Children and Lands with persecutions and in the world to come Eternal life Though that vile Apostate JulJan derided this Promise yet thousands and ten thousands have experienced it and do at this day stand ready to set their seal to it God hath made it good to his people not only in spirituals inward joy and peace but even in Temporals also instead of natural relations who took care for them before hundreds of ChristJans shall stand ready to assist and help them So that though they have left all for Christ yet they may say with the Apostle 2 Cor. 6. 10. As having nothing and yet possessing all things O the admirable care and tenderness of Providence over those that for Conscience sake have lest all and cast themselves upon its immediate care Are there not at this day to be found many so provided for even to the envy of their Enemies and their own admiration Who sees not the faithfulness of God in the Promises that hath but an heart to trust God in them The Word of Promise assures us that whatever wants or straits the Saints â—all into their God will never leave them nor forsake them Heb. 13. 5. that he will be with them in trouble Psal. 91. 15. Consult the various Providences of your life in this point and I doubt not but you will find the truth of these Promises as often confirmed as you have been in trouble Ask your own hearts where or when was it that your God forsook you and left you to sink and perish under your burdens I doubt not but most of you have been at one time or other plunged in difficulties difficulties out of which you could see no way of escape by the eye of reason yea such as it may be staggered your faith in the Promise as David's was 1 Sam. 27. 1. when he said I shall one day perish by the hand of Saul All men are Lyars even Samuel himself and yet notwithstanding all we see him emerge out of that Sea of trouble and the Promises made good in every tittle to him The like doubtless you may observe in your own cases Ask your own souls the question and they will satisfie it Did God abandon and cast you off in the day of your straits certainly you must belye your own experience if you should say so 'T is true there have been some plunges and difficulties you have met with wherein 1. You could see no way of escape but concluded you must perish in them 2. Difficulties that have staggered your faith in the Promises and made you doubt whether the fountain of All-sufficiency would let out it self for your relief 3. Yea such difficulties as have provoked you to murmuring and impatience and thereby provoked the Lord to forsake you in your straits but yet you see he did not He hath either 1. Strengthened your back to bear or 2. Lightened your burden or 3. Opened an unexpected door of escape according to that Promise 1 Cor. 10. 13. so that the evil which you feared came not upon you You read that the Word of God is the only support and relief to a gracious soul in the dark day of Affliction Psal. 119. 50 92. 2 Sam. 23. 5. That for this very purpose it was written Rom. 15. 4. No rules of moral Prudence no sensual remedies can perform that for us which the Word can do And is not this a sealed Truth attested by a thousand of undenyable experiences Hence have the Saints fetcht their CordJals when fainting under the rod. One Word of God can do more than ten thousand words of men to relieve a distressed soul. If Providence have at any time directed you to such Promises as either assure you that the Lord will be with you in trouble Psal. 91. 15. or that encourage you from inward peace to bear cheerfully outward burdens John 16. 33. or satisfie you of Gods tenderness and moderation in his dealings with you Isa. 27. 8. or that you shall reap blessed fruits from them Rom. 8. 28. or that clear up your interest in