as wisdom could contrive it, which is generally granted; it is a monstrous folly to impute it to chance. A man might better fay, Archimedes did not make any of his engines by skill, but by chance; and might more easily maintain, that Cardinal Richlieu did not manage affairs by any arts or policy, but they fell out by mere chance. What pitiful fhifts is Epicurus put to, when the best account he can give of the world, is this; That matter always was, and the parts of it in motion, and after a great many trials, the parts of matter at length hampered themselves in this fortunate order wherein they now are; that men, at firft, grew out of the earth, were nourished by the navel-ftring, and when they were strong enough, broke loose and weaned themselves: that the nostrils were made by the waters making themselves a paffage out of the body; and the ftomach and bowels by the waters forcing a paffage downwards, that the members of the body were not made for those uses for which they ferve, but chanced to be fo, and the uses afterwards found out. Is it worth the while to advance fuch fenfelefs opini ons as thefe, to deny the wifdom of God? Is it not much easier, and more reafonable to fay, that the wifdom of God made all these things, than to trouble ourfelves to imagine how all things fhould happen thus conveniently by chance? Did you ever know any great work, in which there was variety of parts, and an orderly difpofition of them required, done by chance, and without the direction of wisdom and counfel? How long time might a man take to jumble a fet of four and twenty letters together, before they would fall out to be an exact poem; yea, or to make a book of tolerable fenfe, though but in profe? How long might a man fprinkle oil and colours upon canvas, with a careless hand, before this would produce the exact picture of a man? And is a man easier made by chance than his picture? He that tells me that this great and curious frame of the world was made by chance, I could much more believe him if he fhould tell me that Henry the VII's chapel in Weftminster was not built by any mortal man, but the ftones did grow in thofe forms into which they seem

to

to us to be cut and graven; that the ftones, and timber, and iron, and brafs, and all the other materials came hither by chance, and upon a day met all happily together, and put themfelves into that delicate order, in which we fee them so close compacted, that it must be a great chance that parts them again. Now, is it not much easier to imagine how a skilful workman fhould raise a building, than how timber and ftones, and how that variety of materials, which is required to a great and ftately building, fhould meet together all of a just bigness, and exactly fitted, and by chance take their places, and range themselves into that order? I infift the longer upon this, because I am fenfible how much atheism hath gained in this age.

2. Let us admire and adore, and praife the wif dom of God, who hath established the world by his wifdom; and stretched out the heavens by his underftanding; who hath made all things in number, weight and measure; that is, by exact wisdom. The wife works of God are the proper object of our praise; and this is a day proper for the work of praife and thanksgiving. Now under the gofpel, fince Chrift was clearly revealed, we have new matter of praise and thanksgiving; but as God has given us Chrift, fo he hath given us beings. We are not fo to remember our Redeemer, as to forget our Creator. The goodness, and power, and wifdom of God, which appears in the creation of the world, ought ftill to be matter of admiration and praise to Chriftians. It is a great fault and neglect among Chriftians, that they are not more taken up with the works of God, and the contemplation of the wifdom which fhines forth in them. We are apt enough to admire other things, little toys; but we overlook this vaft curious engine of the world, and the great Artificer of all things. It was truly faid by one, that most men are fo ftupid and inconfiderate, as to admire the works of a painter or a carver more than the works of God. There are many that have bestowed more eloquence in the praise of a curious picture, or an exact building, than ever they did upon this noble and exquifite

frame

frame of the world, or any of the other works of God. We can admire the wifdom, and defign, and skill of petty artists, and little engineers; but here is wisdom in the beauty and order of the creation. Did we love God, and take pleasure in the effects of his wifdom and power, we should be more in the contemplation of them. Pfal. cxi. 2. The works of the Lord are great, fought out of all them that have pleafure therein: Let us then fay with the Pfalmift, O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom haft thou made them all; the earth is full of thy riches, &c.

More particularly let us, with an humble thankfulness, admire the wisdom which hath made and difpofed all things fo fitly for our ufe and fervice, and with fo merciful a refpect to us the light and influence of heaven; the beafts and the fruits of the earth. We find the Pfalmift often praifing God upon this account, Pfal. cxxxvi. 4, 5.c. The wifdom which hath framed thefe bodies of ours, Pfal. cxxxix. 14, 15, 16. which hath endowed us with knowledge and understanding. Elihu complains, that men were apt to overlook thefe great bleffings of God, Job xxxv. 10, 11, 12. But none faith, Where is God my maker, who giveth fongs in the night? who teacheth us more than the beasts of earth, and maketh us wifer than the fowls of heaven. There they cry, but none giveth answer, because of the pride of evil

men.

3. Ufe. Truft the wifdom of God, which made the world to govern it, and the affairs of it; and the wifdom which hath framed thy body in fo curious and exquifite a manner, and formed thy fpirit within thee, and hath made fo many creatures with reference to thy neceffity and comfort, truft him for thy future provifion. Matth. vi. 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 raiment? He hath given us our fouls; 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 lefs? When thou art ready anxiously and folicitoufly to fay, what fhall

I

I do for the neceffaries of life Confider whence thou didst receive thy life, who made this body of thine; thou mayeft be affured, that the wisdom which hath created thefe, confidered how to fupply them; the wifdom of God knew that you would want all thefe, and hath accordingly provided for them, therefore fear not.

SERMON CXXXVIII.

The wisdom of God in his providence.

I PETER V. 7.

Cafting all your care upon him, for he careth for

you.

A

Preached at Kensington.

Mongft the feveral duties which, towards the conclufion of this epiftle, the Apostle exhorts Christians to, this is one, not to be over-much folicitous and concerned about what may befal us, but to refer ourselves to the providence of God, which takes care of us. In fpeaking to this argument, I fhall,

I. Confider the nature of the duty here required, which is to caft our care upon God.

II. The argument used to perfuade us to it: Because he careth for us.

I. For the nature of the duty. here required. The word uepuva fignifies an anxious care about events, a care that is accompanied with trouble and difquiet of mind about what may befal us; about the good that we hope for and defire, 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

apt to be fo follicitous and difquieted about. The expreffion feems to be taken out of Pfal. lv. 22. Caft thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall fustain thee.

Now that we may not mistake our duty in this matter, I shall shew what is not here meant by cafting all our care upon God; and then what is meant by it.

The Apostle doth not here intend to take men off from a provident care and diligence about the concernments of this life; this is not only contrary to reafon, but to many exprefs precepts and paffages of fcripture, wherein diligence is recommended to us, and the bleffing of God, and the good fuccefs of our affairs promised thereto; wherein we are commanded to provide for those of our family, which cannot be done without fome fort of care; and wherein flothfulness and negligence are condemned, and threatened with poverty: fo that this is not to caft our care upon God, to take no care of ourfelves, to ufe no diligence and endeavour for the obtaining of the good which we defire, and the prevention of the evil we fear; this is to tempt the providence of God, and to caft that burden upon him, which he expects we fhould bear ourselves.

But by cafting our care upon God, the Apostle intends these two things:

1. That after all prudent care and diligence have been used by us, we fhould not be farther folicitous, nor trouble ourselves 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 prefent to do, we fhould not difquiet and torment ourfelves about the iffue and event of things.

2. Cafting our care upon God, implies, that we fhould refer the iffue of things to his providence, which is continually vigilant over us, and knows how to dif pofe all things to the beft; entirely confiding in his wifdom and goodnefs, that he will order all things for our good, and in that confidence refolving to reft

fatisfied