636 I 'ifdom of God, Vol. thou dealefi hardly with me, Iwill apologize for thee, I will undertake and maintain thy car{fe, that what thou doll is heft for me. What could a Chriftian fay more or better, by way of Refgnation of himfelf to the Providenceof God ? It almoft tranfports me to read fuch Paf;ages from a Heathen , efpecially if ue confider in what Condition Epiaetus was, he had a maimed and deformed Body was in the Extremity of Poverty, a Slave, and cruelly and tyrannically ufed, fo that we can hardly imagine a Man in worfe and more wretched Circumftances ; and yet he junifies the Providence of God in all this, and not only fubmits to his Condi- tion, but is contented with it , and embraces it , and fince God bath thought it fittein and bell for him , he is of the fame Mind, and thinks fo too. I confefs it Both not move me to hear Seneca, who flowed in Wealth , and lived at Eafe , to talk magnificently, and to flight Poverty and Pain, as not worthy the Name of Evil and Trouble : But to fee this poor Man , in the loweft Condition and worft Circumílances of Humanity, bear up fo bravely , and with fuch a Chear- fulnefs and Serenity of Mind to entertain his hard Fortune ; and this not out of Stupidity, but from a wife Senfe of the Providence of God, and a firm Perfuafi- on of the Wifdom and Goodnefs of all his Dealings, this, who can chufe but be afThl ed with it, as an admirable Temper for a Chriflian, much more for a Hea- then! To which we may apply that Saying of our Lord, concerning the Heathen Centurion, Verily I fay untoyou, I have notfoundfo great Faith, no not in Ifrael ; fo wife, fo equal, fb firm a Temper of Mind is feldom to be found , no not amongli Chriflians. And this is the firfl: Confideration, That if God cares for us, we and our Concernments are in thebeffand fafeft Hands, and therefore we fltould calf all our care upon God. The zd is , Becaufe all our Anxiety and Care will do us no good ; on the contrary, it will certainly do us hurt. We may fret and vex our own Spirits, and make them refllefs,in the Contemplation of the Evils andDifappointments which we are afraid of, and may make our Lives miferable, in the fad Refle&ions of our own Thoughts ; but we cannot, by all our Anxiety and Care controul the Courfe of Things, and alter the Defigns "of Providence ; we cannot by all our Vexation and Trouble over-ruleEvents, and make Things happen as we would have them. And this is the Argument our Saviour ufeth to this very. Purpofe, Mat. 6. z7. Which of you by taking thought, can add one cubit to his flature ? So that all'this Trouble is unreafonable, and to no purpofe, becaufe it bath no Influence on the Event, either to promote or hinder it. Things are governed and difpofed by an higher Hand, and placed out of our reach; we may deliberate and contrive, and ufe our belt Endeavours, for the effeétiagof our Defigns, but we cannot fecure the Event againft a thoufand Interpofitions of Divine Providence, which we can neither forefee nor hinder ; but yet notwithlanding, thefe our Endeavours are reafonable, becaufe they are the ordinary Means which God bath appointed, for the procuring of Good andprevention of Evil, and tho' they may mifcarry, yet they are all we can do : But after this is done , Trouble and Anxiety about the Event is the vaineft Thing in the World, becaufe it is to no Purpofe, nor doth at all conduce to what we defire ; we difquiet our(elves in vain , and we diflruft God's Providence and Care of us, and thereby provoke him to defeat and difap- point us. Let us then by thefe Confiderations be perfuaded to this Duty, the Practice whereof is of continual and univerfal Ufe in the whole Courfe of our Lives ; in all our Affairs and Concernments, after we have ufed our belt Endeavours, let us fit down and be fatisfied, and refer the reft to God, whofe Providence governs the World, and takes Care of all our Interefts, and of the Intereft of his Church and Religion, when they feem to be in greateft Danger. We cannot but be convinced, that this is very reafonable , to leave the Ma- nagement of Things to him who made them, and therefore underftands bell how to order them. The Government of the World is a very curious and complicated Thing, and not to be tamper'd with by every unskilful Hand ; and therefore as an unskilful Man, after he hath tampered a great while with a Watch , thinking to bring it into better Order , and is at laft convinced that he can do no Good upon
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