Our Lord Jesus Christ knew for certain all that should happen to him; nevertheless, we find him spending the days and nights in prayer; and when his life was in danger, he neglected not the lawful and harmless means. He told his apostles," Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall to the ground without your Father; but the very hairs of your head are numbered." This conside ration hinders him not from commanding them, that when they are persecuted in one city they should fly to another.

God had appointed to save St. Paul's life, and the lives of all the company; therefore he revealed it to him by an angel; nevertheless when he saw the mariners seek to escape, he told the centurion, "If these do not stay in the ship, you cannot be saved," Acts xxvii. In short, the means and causes are subordinate to the end in such a manner, that it is mere folly and extravagancy to offer to divide them, or suppose them to be contrary.

It is without reason that some bring the history of king Asa against this undoubted truth. They affirm that this prince was reproved for seeking to the physicians in his sickness. These are the words of the holy scripture ; " Asa, in the thirty-ninth year of his reign, was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great; yet in his disease he sought not the Lord, but to the physicians," 2 Chron. i. -The Spirit of God blames not this prince, because he desired the assistance of the physicians, but because he neglected to seek help of God, or to implore his aid in the day of his distress. He that is sick may as freely take physic, as he that is well may eat and drink; yet we must not altogether repose our confidence and trust upon the remedies, but rather upon God, who sends both sickness and chealth. As man doth not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God; so it is not by

the

the physic alone that the patient is cured of his distemper, but by the blessing and power of him who gives the wound, and binds it up; who strikes and heals when he pleaseth, Job v. Therefore as we ought never to eat or drink before we pray to God to vouchsafe his blessing upon our meat and drink, that he may grant to them the virtue of recruiting the decayed strength of our bodies; likewise we should never take any physic, without lifting up our hands to God for a blessing, that the remedy have the strength to expel our disease. All God's creatures are good when they are received with thanksgiving; for they are sanctified by the word of God, and by prayer, 1 Tim. iv.

Take notice here how much such persons are to be blamed, who, when they lament for the loss of their friends or kindred, instead of looking up to heaven, look down upon earth, and consider nothing but the exterior cause of their grief: instead of adoring, with all humility, the wise providence of God, that disposes of all worldly events, and appoints the meanest circumstances, they fret and murmur; they delight to nourish in their minds displeasure, which consumes them; and break forth into many needless complaints, which serve but to open their wounds, and to render them more miserable. If it had not been in such a place, if he had not been engaged in such a way, if such a physician had not been called, or if another had been sent, if this or that had not been done, if this physic had not been administered to him, if less or more blood had been taken from him, if he had been suffered to eat more meat, or if less had been given, my brother, or my sister, my wife, my child, or my husband, had been yet alive. It may be thou art mistaken, friend; the disease could not be cured but by a miracle: but when it should be otherwise, we must nevertheless lift up our eyes to God, and acknowledge his finger with all respect for oft-times he blinds the physicians, so that they cannot understand the nature of the disease, and

suffers

suffers them to apply remedies contrary to the distemper. As God threatens to take away the staff of bread, that is to say, the nourishing strength and virtue of the bread, Lev. xxvi. likewise he takes away his blessing from the most sovereign remedies, and renders them altogether useless. It is thus with all other accidents that happen unto us, and bring us to our graves; for when it pleaseth him to remove any body out of the world, he suffers him to shut his eyes to all the light of reason and prudence, and to cast himself headlong into the most apparent danger; as when he designed to destroy Absalom, and to cut him off, he caused him to be led away by evil counsel, and disappointed the discreet and prudent advice of Ahithophel. Therefore, since God hath appointed or fore-ordained, before man's creation, the time and manner of his death; at what hour, in what place, and by what means soever God calls away our friends, or strikes at our person, it is always our duty to possess our souls with patience, and not to suffer the least repining or despairing word to proceed out of our mouths.

If Death suddenly snatch away thy dearest children, or thy most intimate friends, complain not of its inhumanity, Remember that it puts in execution the decrees of God's everlasting will, and that it carries with it a commission sealed with the signet of the living God. Adore therefore with all humility the supreme Monarch of heaven and earth, and say to him as David, with a profound submission, "Lord, I held my tougue and said nothing, because it was thy doing," Psa. xxxix.

I do not wish thee to have a heart of flint, without natural affection. Piety and religion are not barbarous, they deprive us not of our bowels; the affection that thou bearest thy children is not displeasing to the Father of mercies, if it be but well governed, and do not exceed the natural bounds. It is lawful for thee to be sensible of thy griefs, to

weep

weep for their distempers, and to pray for the recovery of their health but when God hath disposed of them, and received them into his eternal rest, thou must stop all thy sighs, wipe all thy tears, and say as David did after the death of his beloved child, "We shall go to them, but they shall not come to us," 2 Sam. xiii.

Do they die of a violent death? Stop not thy consideration at the evil blasts that have carried them away, but lift up thy mind to the great God, that draws these winds out of his treasures; and being armed with a holy constancy, say with the patient Job, "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." I am but a weak instrument, which God hath employed to put them into the world; but he is their King, their Father, their Creator; he is also their Saviour and Redeemer. Now it is both just and reasonable, that God should dispose of his subjects, of his children, of his workmanship, and of those whom he hath redeemed with his precious blood.

The master of a family gathers at his pleasure the flowers and fruits of his garden; sometimes he cuts off the buds, sometimes he suffers them to.blossom, sometimes he gathers the green fruit, sometimes he stays till it be ripe; and shall not Almighty God have the liberty to dispose, at his will, of all that grow in his own territories? The master of the family hath not created the trees and plants that are at his command; but God has made and fashioned, with his Almighty hand, all his children, and all the men in the world. flowers wither and spoil in a moment, and our fruits are soon rotten, and become unprofitable, notwithstanding all our care and skill to preserve them; but the flowers that God cuts or pulls off, he transplants into his heavenly garden, and gives them a perfect and divine lustre and glory, that never fades; and the greatest fruits that he gathers, he preserves for all eternity in unspeakable sweetness.

Our

Doth

Doth this Death draw near to threaten thy person, when it hath dispatched thy dearest friends? Be not frighted at its appearance; for it is not able to anticipate a moment the hour appointed by the wisdom of Almighty God; and when that moment shall be come, that he shall call thee to himself from heaven, offer no resistance, and stop not thy ears at thy Creator's voice: say, with the prophet Samuel, "Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth," 1 Sam. iii. Exod. xxxiii. O merciful God, since thy glorious presence goes before me, I am ready to depart out of this crazy tabernacle, and to quit this miserable wilderness, to enter into the heavenly and happy Canaan; say with our Saviour, "Father, the hour is come, glorify thy Son, that thy Son may glorify thee," John xvii.

Hast thou lived many years upon the earth? Ascribe not the cause to the constitution of thy body, to the manner of thy living, nor to the skill of thy physicians; but remember that God lengthens thy days, and come and cast at his feet thy reverend grey hairs, which the holy scripture styles, "A crown of silver, or a crown of glory," Prov. xvi.

Art thou threatened with death in the flower of thine age? Fret not thyself at it, and let not the least word proceed out of thy mouth but what is seasoned with the salt of true piety. Remember that it is God alone cuts off the thread of thy life, and puts a period to thy mortal race. Thou hast as much reason to be grieved because thou art born so late, as to be sorry that thou diest so soon. Instead of spending thyself in useless complaints, which is as if thou, who art but an earthy vessel newly formed, should cast thyself against the Rock of eternity; remember to adore and praise thy great Creator, and return him hearty thanks in that he is so well pleased to crown thee in the middle of thy race, and so bountiful as to bestow the salary of the whole day upon thee, who hast laboured but a few

hours.