Serrn.LXXXIV. in his Providence. 62I he pleafeth, interpoles in the Affairs of it. 'Tis true, indeed the Epicure- ans did deny that God either made the World or governs it ; and therefore wife Men always doubted whether they did indeed believe the Being of God, or not ; but being unwilling to incur the danger of fo odious an Opinion, they were content for fafhion fake, to own his Being, provided they might take away the belt and moft fubflantial Arguments for the proof of it. The rest of the Philofophers owned a Providence, at leana general Providence, that took care of great and more important Matters, but did not defcend to aconfiant and parti- cular care of every Perfon, and every little Event belonging to them, Interclum curiofus fingulorum, fays Tully ; now and then, when hepleafes, he takes care of par- ticular Perform, and their lejer concernments ; but many of them thought that God did generally negleót the fmaller and more inconfiderable Affairs of the World, . Dii minora negligent neque agellos ingulorum&viticulas perfequuntur, The Gods over- look fmaller matters, anddo not mindevery Man's little Field andVine. Such im- perfe& apprehenfions had they of the Providence of God. And tho' they would feem hereby to confult the Dignity and Eafe of the Deity, by exempting him from the care and trouble of leffer Matters, yet in truth and reality, they cana diilbonourable refleétion upon him, as ifit were a burthen to Infinite Knowledge, and Power, and Goodnefs, to take care of every thing. But now Divine Revelation hath put this matter out cf doubt, by airing us of God's particular care ofall Perfons and Events. Our Saviour tells us, that God's Providence extends to the leaft and moft inconfiderable Creatures, to the grafs of the Field, which to day is, and to morrow is call into the Oven, Mat. 6. 30. To the fowls of the air, and that to the leaf} of them, even to theSparrows, two of which are fold for a Farthing, and yet not one of them falleth to the ground with- out God, Mat. ro. 2.9. Much more doth the Providence of God extend to Men, which are Creatures far more confiderable, and to the very lean thing that belongs to us, to the very hairs of our head, whichare all numlred, the loweft inftance that can be thought on. So that the light of Nature owns a more general Providence ; and Divine Re- velation path reaified thole imperfèa apprehenfions which Men had about it, and bath fatisfied us, that it extends it fell to all particulars, and even to the leafs things and moft inconfiderable. And this is no ways incredible, confidering the Infinite Perfeaion of the Divine Nature, in refpeét of which God can with as much and greater eafe, take care of every thing, than we can do of any one thing ; and the beliefof this is the great foundation of Religion. Men therefore pray to God for the good theywant, and to be freed from the evils they fear, be- caufe they believe that he always regards and hears them. Men therefore make Confcience of their Duty, becaufe they believe God obferves them, and will re- ward and punifh their good and evil Deeds. So that take away the Providence of God, and wepull down one of the main Pillars upon which Religion hands, we rob our felves of one of the greaten Comforts and ben Refuges in the Aft- ¿bons and Calamities of thik life, and of all our hopes ofhappinefs in the next. And tho' there be manydiforders in the World, efpecially in the Affairs ofMen, the mon irregular and intraulable Piece of God's Creation ; yet this is far from being a fufficient ObjeCion againft the Providence of Gad, if we confider thatGod made Man a free Creature, and capable of abuing his Liberty, and intends this prefent Life for a State of Trial in order to another, where Men fhall receive the jell recompence of their Athenshere : And then if we confider, that many of the evils and diforders, which God permits to happen, are capable of being over- ruled by him to a greater good, and are made many times to ferve wife and excellent purpofes, and that the Providence of God does.fometimes vifibly and remarkably interpofe, for the preventionand remedy of great Diforders and Con- fvfions; I fay, confidering all this, it is no blemith to the Divine Providence, to permit many of thofe Irregularities which are in the World, and fuller the Fates of good andbadMen to be fo crofs and unequal in this Life. Forfuppofing ano- ther Life after this, wherein Men (hall come to an Account, and every Man thall receive the jell recompence of his ACions, there will then be a proper Seafon and full
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=