him. But that we may have the clearer and more diftin& Apprehenfion of God's Government of Mankind, to make them the Inftruments of his Providence, I fhall more particularly, but very briefly, ftate this matter, both with refpect to Good and to Bad Men.

1. As for Good Men, there is no difficulty in their cafe; for they are the Ministers of a Good and Beneficent Providence; they do Good out of Temper and Inclination, and a Habit and.. Principle of Virtue, and out of Reverence to the Divine Laws; and are ready to obey every extraordinary impreffion to excite and determine them to fuch particular good Offices as God thinks fit to employ them in: And this is nothing but what is very honourable for God, and what becomes Good Men; for to do good is the Glory of Human Nature, as well as of the Divine Providence; and good Men will obferve the Laws of Virtue in doing Good; and while Good is done by Honeft and Virtuous Means, there can be no Objection against Providence.

2dly, But as Bad Men are most difficultly governed, fo the greatest difficulty is in vindicating Providence in making use of the Ministries of Bad Men; for it is commonly thought a great blemish to Providence, when Glorious and Admirable Designs are brought to pass by the Sins of Men. Now the Foundation of this Objection is a great mistake, as if God could not ferve his own Providence by the Sins of Men, without being the Caufe of Mens Sins; for there is no colour nor reasonable Pretence of an Objection against God's making the Sins of Men ferve wife and good Ends, if he can do this without having any hand in Mens Sins.

It is the great Glory of Providence, to bring Good out of Evil, and while all the Events of Providence are Juft, and Righteous, and Holy, and Wife, and fuch as become a God, it is much more admirable to confider, that all this fhould be, while there is fo much wickedness and diforder in the World.

The true State of this Matter in fhort is this: God never fuggefts any evil Designs to Men; that is owing to their own wicked Hearts, or to the Temptations of other wicked Men, or of wicked Spirits: But when Men have formed any wicked Designs, he fometimes, as you have heard, changes their Purposes, or deters them from putting them in execution; and when he fuffers them to proceed to Action, he either fhamefully disappoints them, or ferves fome wife and good End, by what they wickedly do: And if Providence confifts in the Care and Government of Mankind, how can God govern Mankind better, than to permit Bad Men to do no more Hurt, than what he can turn to Good. God does not govern the World by an immediate and miraculous Power, but governs Men by Men, and makes them help and defend, reward and punish one another; and therefore there is no other ordinary way of punishing Bad Men (excepting the Civil Sword, which reaches but a few Criminals) but to punish them by the Wickedness of other Bad Men; and what can more become the Wisdom and Juftice of Providence, than to make Bad Men' the Ministers and Executioners of a Divine Vengeance upon each other, which is one great End God ferves by the Sins of Men? I'm fure it is for the great Good of the World, that God has the Government of Bad Men, that they cannot do so much F 2 Hurt

Hurt as they would, and that the Mischief God permits them to do, is directed to fall on fuch Perfons as either want Correction, or deserve Punishment. For this is another thing very obfervable in God's Government both of the Good and Bad Actions of Men, that as in the Government of Natural Caufes God directs where, and when, and in what Proportion Nature shall exert its Influences; that it fhall Rain upon one City, and not upon another; fo God does not only excite Men to do Good, but directs and determines them where to do it; chufes out fuch Perfons as they fhall do Good to, and appoints what Good they fhall do, and in what Measures and Proportions they fhall do it: And he not only fets Bounds to the Lufts and Paffions of Bad Men, but when he fees fit to permit their Wickedness, he directs where the Hurt and Mifchief of it fhall light: We need no other Proof of this, but the very Notion of Providence, which is, God's Care of his Creatures; for that requires a particular Application of the Good or Evil which Men do, to fuch particular Perfons as God thinks fit to do Good to, or to Afflict and Punish; which is the moft material and moft neceffary Exercise both of the Wisdom, and Justice, and Goodness of Providence. For if God fuffered Men to do Good or Evil at Random, without directing them to fit and proper Objects, the Fortunes of particular Men would depend upon as great a Chance, as the mutable Lufts, and Paffions, and Fancies of Men.

The only Use I fhall make of this at prefent, is to convince you how perfectly we are in God's Hands, and how fecure we are in his Protection; what little Reafon we have to be afraid of Men, whatever their Power, how furious foever

their Paffions are; how vain it is to truft in Men, and to depend on their Favour; for they can neither do good nor hurt, but as they are directed by God; and therefore he alone muft be the Supreme Object of our Fear and Truft: If God be for us, who can be against us? If we make him our Enemy, who can fave us out of his Hands? So that we have but one Thing to take care of, and we are fafe: Let us make God our Friend, and he will raise us up Friends, and Patrons, and Protectors; will deliver us out of the Hands of our Enemies,or make our Enemies to be at Peace with us.

Secondly, Having thus explained God's Government of Caufes, let us now confider his Government of Events. And I think it will be eafily granted me, That if all those Caufes by which all Events are brought to pafs, are governed by God, God muft also have the Abfolute Government of all Events in his own Hands.

But yet the Government of Causes, and of Events, are of a very different Confideration: And to represent this as plainly and familiarly as I can, I fhall 1. fhew you, what I mean by Events, when I attribute the Government of all Events to God. 2. Wherein God's Government of Events confifts. 3. The Difference between God's Abfolute Government of all Events, and Neceffity and Fate. 4. That the Exercife of a particular Providence confifts in the Government of all Events.

1. What I mean by Events. Now every Thing that is done, may in a large Senfe be called an Event, and is in fome degree or other

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under the Government of Providence, as all the Actions of Men are: But when I speak of God's Government of Events, I mean only fuch Events as are in Scripture called God's Doings, as being ordered and appointed by him; that is to fay, all the Good or Evil which happens to private Men, or to Kingdoms and Nations in this World. Every Thing that is done is not God's doing; for there is a great deal of Evil every day committed, which God does not order and appoint to be done, but has exprefly forbid the doing of it; but there is no Good or Evil which happens to any Man, or to any Society of Men, but what God orders and appoints for them: And this is God's Government of all Events. This is the proper Exercife of Providence, to allot all Men their Fortunes. and Conditions in the World, to difpenfe Rewards and Punishments, to take care that no Man fhall receive either Good or Evil, but from the Hand, and by the Appointment of God: This is the Subject of all the Disputes about the Juftice and Goodnefs, and Wifdom of Providence; and all the Objections against Providence, neceffarily fuppofe that thus it is, or thus it ought to be, if God governs the World: For unlefs Providence be concerned to take care that no Men be happy or miferable, but as they deferve, (which cannot be without the Abfolute Government of all Events,) the Profperity of Bad Men, and the Sufferings of the Good, the many Miseries that are in the World, and the uncertain Changes and Turnings of Fortune, can be no Objection against Providence. And indeed, were not this the Cafe, Providence would be fo infignificant a Name, that it would not be worth the while to dispute for

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