SERMON XIII.

BY REV. JOSEPH FIELD, WESTON, MASS.

THE CARE OF PROVIDENCE.

I PETER V. 7. CASTING ALL YOUR CARE UPON HIM, FOR HE CARETH

FOR YOU.

THAT there is a first cause of all things, a being of infinite power and wisdom, by whom this world and all its inhabitants were created, and by whom also that which we call the course of nature was established, is a truth, so instinctively felt and so generally acknowledged by man, and so legibly stamped upon every part of creation, that none but a mind bewildered in the mazes of a false philosophy or struggling under the influences of vice, with conscience and with the dictates of its better reason, can for a moment deny or doubt it. When we cast our eyes upon those objects which on every side invite our attention-upon the broad canopy of the heavens that spreads itself over us, and upon those unknown worlds of beauty and grandeur that sparkle like so many living sapphires amidst that vast expanse, when we contemplate the earth on which we live, and the great variety of beings which dwell upon its surface and inhabit its depths-when, in fine, we behold the mutual relations and correspondences that

every where exist,-the adaptation of parts to each other and to the whole, and their relative uses and tendencies, we cannot but exclaim, the hand that made all things is divine.

The same process of reasoning, my friends, which leads us to a belief in the existence of a God, will ascribe to him his distinguishing perfections. If the existence of the creature implies the existence of a creator, whatever excellencies the former possesses, must of necessity be possessed by the latter. For the cause must be sufficient to produce its effects. However complicate and involved be the machinery, it derives all its power from the skill and ability of the artist. Power only can produce power. Intelligence only can impart intelligence. Life only can give life. who gave us existence, shall not he exist? gave us knowledge, shall not he know ?"

He then

He who

But a mere belief in the existence and perfections of the divine being can afford us but little satisfaction, unless we believe also in the existence of his moral and natural government over the world,-unless we believe in an overruling providence. Nor do I mean by this, simply a belief in the existence of an established order of things, by which we are to expect that the same effects will, under the same circumstances, ever flow from the same causes. No! small indeed would be the degree of happiness which a belief in an overruling providence could afford us, did we mean by this, only the existence of a common course of nature. Little indeed would be the satisfaction received, did we suppose nothing more to be implied by the doctrine of a providence, than that God had established general laws for the government of the world, and then without any fur

ther active interest in its welfare left it to their operation. No! This is not the faith that elevates us above the trials of earth. This is not the hope that inspires religious confidence and trust. This is not the belief that produces resignation under the trials of the present state. The faith that animates us amidst the changes and vicissitudes of time, and gives joy to the heart in every condition, and inspires us with a spirit. of patience and fortitude and pious submission, is a belief in an overruling, and, in the proper use of the word, a particular providence. To give me joy and peace in believing, I need something more than this remote reference of all things primarily to God. I must believe in his general superintendence over the world. I must believe that his agency is still abroad on the earth, that his power and influence are still felt throughout creation. Nay more, I must believe that he marks every event-that he regards every act. I must believe myself to be, personally, an object of attention and interest to the divine mind. I must regard the Deity as a benefactor and friend, to whom my individual wants and feelings are known; as a parent, whose eye rests upon me personally, with paternal tenderness and affection.

This is what we mean by a belief in the providence of God; and it is only in this view of it, that the doctrine of an overruling providence is to any practical purpose, important and interesting.

Is it objected against this belief that it is impossible for the human mind to conceive of such an all-pervading power and energy as it supposes to exist? And what, I may answer, if the mind of man does sink beneath the vastness of such a conception, and the most

vivid imagination faint in contemplating it, may not this be urged with equal force against the existence of every divine attribute? What eye can gaze undazzled upon the divine glory? Where is the finite intelligence that can comprehend the divine nature? Canst thou by searching find out God? Where is the display of his power, where is the display of his wisdom, before which the mind does not stagger and the imagination droop? Yet, after all, it is certainly as easy to conceive of a power constantly and every where operating, as it is to conceive of a power capable of establishing at once and by a word general laws which shall extend in successful operation to every possible relation of things.

Is it objected against the doctrine of an overruling providence, that man forms too insignificant a part of creation to attract the particular notice and regard of the divine mind? Reason teaches us, my friends, that no object should be considered below divine notice which is so important as to have called into exertion divine power and wisdom and goodness in its creation. God said, Let us make man; and if, at our birth, we are within the arms of infinite mercy, can we be less the objects of divine attention, when our physical frames are strengthened and our understandings are enlarged, and we have become the subjects of a moral law?

But is our rank in the scale of being low? If we possess not the attainments of angels, have we not the moral features of their nature? Are we not, like them, immortal? Are we not, equally with them, to strive after the same divine perfection? Were we not created, in an important sense, in the likeness of God? And shall we say, that they who are exhorted to become partakers of the divine nature, are too insignificant to

attract divine notice? No, my friends, it cannot be. God will not, he does not slight the work of his own hands. There is no wisdom in the supposition, that the divine being has created innumerable worlds and filled them with rational, moral beings, and then left them to the operation of general laws only. It is far more reasonable to believe, that the divine energy still pervades the various systems it has called into existence, overruling and controlling circumstances and eventsand that man, formed with such high capacities and evidently for a destiny so lofty, is himself, with all his concerns, an immediate object of divine interest and attention,-in other words, that there is an overruling, and, in the sense in which I have explained it, a particular providence.

Are

And is there not much to induce such a belief? there not intimations of this great truth springing up spontaneously within us? Does not the heart naturally, instinctively cling to it with a grasp that cannot be shaken off?

A sense of religious obligation seems to be universal. Wherever I cast my eyes, I see modes of religious faith, forms of religious worship. Among the savages of the wilderness, on the banks of the Ganges, amidst the scorching heat of Africa, I hear the voice of supplication and prayer. I witness the homage of a mistaken, perhaps, but sincere and ardent piety. And does not this fact teach us how strongly, how deeply founded in the very nature of the human mind, is this conviction of an overruling providence? For what is it but this belief that erects the altar and kindles the sacrifice? If there be no ear to hear, and no eye to pity, why does prayer offer up its devotions and penitence sue for mercy? In