with knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness, after his own. image,f having the law of God written in their hearts, and power to fulfil it; and yet under a possibility of transgressing, being left to the liberty of their own will, which was subject unto change.i Beside this law written in their hearts, they received a command, not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil:k which, while they kept, they were happy in their communion with God, and had dominion over the creatures.

CHAP. V. Of Providence.

GOD the great Creator of all things, doth uphold,a direct,

f Gen. 1:26, And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. Col. 3:10, And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge, after the image of him that created him, Eph. 4:24, And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Rom. 2:14, For when the Gentiles which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these having not the law, are a law unto themselves. v. 15, Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing, or else excusing one another.

h Eccl. 7:29, Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.

Gen. 3:6, And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise; she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. h Eccl. 7:29. (See letter 1 immediately foregoing.)

k Gen. 2:17, But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. Gen. 3:8, And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. v. 9, And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? v: 10, And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself. v. 11, And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee, that thou shouldest not eat? v. 23, Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

1 Gen. 1:26, And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. v. 28, And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, aud replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. I Heb. 1:3, Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express im

a

dispose, and govern all creatures, actions and things, from the greatest even to the least, by his most wise and holy providence, according to his infallible foreknowledge,e and the free and immutable counsel of his own will, to the praise of the glory of his wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and mercy.s

II. Although, in relation to the foreknowledge and decree of

age of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.

b Dan. 4:34, And at the end of the days, I Nebuchadnezzar lift up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honored him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation.' v. 35, And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing and he doth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? Psal. 135:6, Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did he in heaven and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places. Acts 17;25, Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things. v. 26, And hath made of one blood, all nations of men, for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the time before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation: v. 28, For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. Job 38, 39, 40, 41 chapters.

Mat. 10:29, Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. v. 30, But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. v. 31, Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.

Prov. 15:3, The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good. Psal. 104:24, O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches. Psal. 145:17, The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.

e Acts 15:18, Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world. Psal. 94:8, Understand, ye brutish among the people: and ye fools, when will ye be wise? v. 9, He that planteth the ear, shall he not hear? he that formed the eye, shall he not see? v. 10, He that chastiseth the heathen, shall not he correct? he that teacheth man knowledge, shall not he know? v. 11, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity. f Eph. 1:11, In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. Psal. 33:10, The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect. v. 11, The counsel of the Lord standeth forever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.

Isaiah 63:14, As a beast goeth down into the valley, the spirit of the Lord causeth him to rest; so didst thou lead thy people, to make thyself a glorious name. Eph. 3,10, To the intent that now, unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places, might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God. Rom. 9:17, For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Gen. 45:7, And God sent me before you, to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. Psal. 145:7 They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness.

God, the first cause, all things come to pass immutably and infallibly; yet, by the same providence, he ordereth them to fall out, according to the nature of second causes, either necessarily, freely, or contingently.i

III. God in his ordinary providence maketh use of means,k yet is free to work without, above,m and against them at his pleasure."

II. Acts 2:23, Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified

and slain.

Gen. 8:22, While the earth remaineth, seed-time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night, shall not cease. Jer. 31:35, Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea, when the waves thereof roar; the Lord of hosts is his name. Exod. 21:13, And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee. With Deut. 19:5, As when a man goeth into the wood with his neighbor, to hew wood, and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the axe to cut down a tree, and the head slippeth from the helve, and lighteth upon his neighbor that he die; he shall flee unto one of those cities, and live. 1 Kings 22:28, And Micaiah said, If thou return at all in peace, the Lord hath not spoken by me. And he said, Hearken, O people, every one of you. v. 34, And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness; wherefore he said unto the driver of his chariot, Turn thine hand, and carry me out of the host, for I am wounded. Isa. 10;6, I will send him against an hypocritical nation: and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. v. 7, Howbeit, he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy, and cut off nations not a few.

III. Acts 27:31, Paul said to the centurion, and to the soldiers, Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved. v. 44, And the rest, some on boards, and some on broken pieces of the ship: and so it came to pass that they escaped all safe to land. Isa. 55:10, For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater. v. 11, So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: It shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. Hosea 2:21, And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the Lord, I will hear the heavens; and they shall hear the earth; v. 22, And the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall hear Jezreel.

Hos. 1:7, But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the Lord their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen. Mat. 4:4, But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Job. 34:10, Therefore hearken unto me, ye men of understanding: far be it from God, that he should do wickedness, and from the Almighty, that he should commit iniquity.

m Rom. 4:19, And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb. v. 20, He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God: v. 21, And being fully persuaded, that what he had promised he was able also to perform.

2 Kings 6:6, And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he shewed

IV. The almighty power, unsearchable wisdom, and infinite goodness of God, so far manifest themselves in his providence, that it extendeth itself even to the first fall, and all other sins of angels and men, and that not by a bare permission, but such as hath joined with it a most wise and powerful bounding,¶ , and otherwise ordering, and governing of them, in a manifold dispensation, to his own holy ends; yet so, as the sinful

him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither, and the iron did swim. Dan. 3:27, And the princes, governors and captains, and the king's counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.

IV. Rom. 11:32, For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all. v. 33, O the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! v. 34, For who hath known the mind of the Lord, or who hath been his counsellor? 2 Sam. 24:1, And again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah. With 1 Chr. 21:1, And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel. 1 Kings 22:22, And the Lord said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth and do so. v. 23, Now therefore behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee. 1 Chr. 10:4, Then said Saul to his armor-bearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith, lest these uncircumcised come, and abuse me. But his armorbearer would not, for he was sore afraid. So Saul took a sword, and fell upon it. v. 13, So Saul died, for his transgression which he committed against the Lord, even against the word of the Lord, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire of it: v. 14, And inquired not of the Lord: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse. 2 Sam. 16:10, And the king said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? so let him curse, because the Lord hath said unto him, Curse David. Who shall then say, Wherefore hast thou done so? Acts 2:23, Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain. Acts 4:27, For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together, v. 28, For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.

P Acts 14:16, Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways.

Psal. 76:10, Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain. 2 Kings 19:28, Because thy rage against me, and thy tumult is come up into mine ears, therefore I will put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest.

Gen. 50:20, But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Isaiah 10:6, I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. v. 7, Howbeit, he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy, and cut off nations not a few. v. 12, Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion, and on

ness thereof proceedeth only from the creature, and not from God, who, being most holy and righteous, neither is nor can be the author or approver of sin.s

V. The most wise, righteous, and gracious God doth oftentimes leave for a season his own children to manifold temptations, and the corruption of their own hearts, to chastise them for their former sins, or to discover unto them the hidden strength of corruption, and deceitfulness of their hearts, that they may be humbled; and to raise them to a more close and constant dependence for their support upon himself, and to make them more watchful against all future occasions of sin, and for sundry other just and holy ends."

VI. As for those wicked and ungodly men, whom God as a

Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks.

S

James 1:13, Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man. v. 14, But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. v. 17, Every good gift, and every perfect gift, is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. 1 John 2:16, For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. Psalm 50:21, These things hast thou done, and I kept silence: thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.

V. t 2 Chr. 32:25, But Hezekiah rendered not again, according to the benefit done unto him: for his heart was lifted up: therefore there was wrath upon him, and upon Judah and Jerusalem. v. 26, Notwithstanding Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart (both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem), so that the wrath of the Lord came not upon them in the days of Hezekiah. v. 31, Howbeit, in the business of the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who sent unto him to inquire of the wonder that was done in the land, God left him to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart. 2 Sam. 24:1, And again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah.

V

v 2 Cor. 12:7, And lest I should be exalted above measure, through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. v. 8, For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. v. 9, And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Psalm 73 throughout. Psalm 77:1, I cried unto God with my voice: even unto God with my voice, and he gave ear unto me. v. 10, And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High. v. 12, I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings. (Read the intermediate verses in the Bible.) Mark 14: from the 66th verse to the end, with John 21:15, So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. v. 16, He saith unto him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. v. 17, He