er; when Good Men are rewarded, and the Church of God preferved by appearing Chances; when Bad Men are punished by Chance, and the very Chance whereby they are punished, carries the Marks of their Sins upon it, for which they are punifhed; I fay, can any Man, in fuch Cafes, think that all this is mere Chance? when how accidental foever the Means are, or appear to be, whereby fach Things are done, there is no Appearance at all of Chance in the Event; but the Changes and Revolutions, the Rewards and Punishments of Chance, are all as wifely done, as if there had been nothing of Chance and Accident in it. This is the great Security of our Lives, amidst all the Uncertainties of Fortune, That Chance it felf can't hurt us, without a Divine Commiffion: This is a fure Foundation of Faith, and Hope, and Truft in God, how calamitous and defperate foever our external Condition feems to be, that God never wants Means to help; that he has a Thoufand unfeen Ways, a whole Army of Accidents and unexpected Events at Command, to disappoint fuch Designs, which no visible Art or Power can disappoint, and to fave those whom no vifible Power can fave.

This is an undeniable Reafon for a perpetual Awe and Reverence of God, and an entire Submiffion to him, and a devout Acknowledg ment of him in all our Ways, That we have no Security but in his Providence and Protection: For whatever Provifion we can make against foreseen and foreknown Evils, we can never provide againft Chance ; that is wholly in God's Hands, and no Human Wit or Strength can withstand it: Which may abate the Pride and Self-Confidence of Men, and teach the

Rich, and Great, and Mighty, a Religious Veneration of God, who can with fo much Eafe pull down the mighty from their feat, and advance thofe of low degree."

3dly. The next Thing to be explained, is God's Government of Moral Caufes or Free Agents; that is, the Government of Men, confidered as the Inftruments of Providence, which God makes ufe of for the Accomplishment of his own Wife Counfels.

Moft of the Good or Evil which happens to us in this World, is done by Men: If God rewards, or if he punishes us, ufually Men are his Minifters in both, to execute his Vengeance, or to difpenfe his Bleffings; and therefore God muft have as Abfolute a Government over Mankind, of all their Thoughts, and Paffions, and Counfels, and Actions, as he has of the Powers and Influences of Natural. Caufes, or elfe he cannot reward and punifh when and as he pleafes. If Men could hurt those whom God would blefs and reward, or could do good to those whom God would punish, both Good and Bad Men might be happy or miserable in this World, whether God would or not; our Fortunes would depend upon the Numbers and Power of our Friends or Enemies, upon the good or bad Humours and Inclinations of those among whom we live, and Providence could not help us.

Now this is the great Difficulty; How God can exercife fuch an Abfolute Government over Mankind, who are Free Agents, without deftroying the Liberty and Freedom of their Choice, which would deftroy the Nature of Virtue and Vice, of Rewards and Punishments.

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The Neceffity of allowing this, if we will acknowledge a Proyidence, and the plain Teftimonies and Examples of this Abfolute and Uncontroulable Government, which we find in Scripture, have made fome Men deny the Liberty of Human Actions, and reprefent Mankind to be as mere Machines as a Watch or Clock, which move as they are moved: And then they know not how to bring Religion and the Moral Differences of Good and Evil, and the Natural Juftice of Rewards and Punishments, into their Scheme; for nothing of all this can be reconciled with Abfolute Neceffity and Fate. Others, to avoid thefe Difficulties, are afraid of attributing too much to Providence, or have fuch confused and perplex'd Notions about it, that there are few Cafes wherein they can fecurely depend on God.

But I think this Difficulty will be easily removed, if we diftinguish between God's Government of Men, as Reasonable Creatures, and Free Agents, and his Government of them as the Inftruments of Providence: The firft confiders them in their own private and natural Capacity, the fecond in relation to the rest of Mankind; which makes a great Difference in the Reason, and in the Acts of Government.

Man confidered in his own Nature, is a Reafonable Creature and Free Agent; and there, fore the proper Government of Man, confists in giving him Laws, that he may know the Difference between Good and Evil, what he ought to chufe, and what to refufe, and in annexing fuch Rewards and Punishments to the Obfervation, or to the Breach of thefe Laws, as may reasonably invite him to Obedience, and deter him from Sin: And as this degene

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rate State requires, in laying fuch external Reftraints on him, and affording him fuch internal Affiftances of Grace, as the Divine Wisdom fees proportioned to the Weakness and Corruption of Human Nature: And when this is done, it becomes God to leave him to his own Choice, and to reward or punish him as he deferves: For a forced Virtue deferves no Reward; and a Neceffity of Sinning, will reafonably excufe from Punishment. The Nature of a Reasonable Creature, of Virtue and Vice, of Rewards and Punishments, reprefent it as very becoming the Wisdom and Juftice of God, to leave every Man to the Freedom of his own Choice, to do good or evil, to deferve Rewards or Punishments, as far as he himself is only concerned in it.

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But when we confider Man in Society, the Cafe is altered; for when the Good or Évil of ; their Actions extend beyond themselves, to do good or hurt to other Men, the Providence of God becomes concerned either to hinder, or to permit and order it, as may beft ferve the Wife Ends of Government, as thofe other Men who are like to be the better or the worse for it, have deserved well or ill of God. Tho' God has made Man a Free Agent, yet we must not think that he has made fuch a Creature as he himself can't govern; No Man doubts, but that God can when he pleafes, by an Irrefiftible Power, turn Mens Hearts, and chain up their Paffions, and alter their Counfels: The only Question is, When it is fit for God to do this? And no Man can queftion the Fitness of it, when the good Government of the World requires it. God makes no Man good or bad, virtuous or vicious, by a perpetual and irrefifti

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ble Force; for this contradicts the Nature of Virtue and Vice, which requires a Freedom and Liberty of Choice: But God may by a fecret and irrefiftible Influence upon Mens Minds, even force them to do that Good, which they have no Inclination to do, and restrain them from doing that Evil, which otherwise they would have done; which does not make them Good Men, but makes them the Inftruments of Providence in doing good to Men And God, who is the Sovereign Lord of all Creatures, may, when he fees fit, prefs thofe Men, if I may fo fpeak, to his Service, who would not do good upon Choice. This fhows the Difference between the Government of Grace, and Providence ; the firft has Relation to Virtue and Vice, to make Men good, to change their Natures and finful Inclinations into Habits of Virtue, and therefore admits of no greater Force than what is confiftent with the Freedom of Choice, and the Nature of Virtue and Vice: But the Government of Providence refpects the external Happiness or Mifery, Rewards or Punishments of Men or Nations; and to this Purpose God may ufe what Inftruments he pleases, and exercife fuch Authority over Nature or Men, as is neceffary to accomplish his own Wife Counfels of Mercy or Judgment. And it was neceffary to premife this Diftinction, because the Confounding thefe Two, has occafioned great Difficulties and Miftakes, both in the Doctrine of Grace and Providence.

Let us then now more particularly confider, How God governs Mankind, fo as to make them the Inftruments and Minifters of his Providence in the World. The Methods of the Divine Wisdom are Infinite and Unfearchable,

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