the Fortunes of Men, and disappoint the moft proper and natural means of Succefs: What fhould conquer in a Race but Swiftnefs; or win the Battel but Strength? What fhould fupply Mens Wants, and increase Riches, but Wildom and Underftanding in Human Affairs? What more likely way to gain the Favour of Princes and People, than a dextrous and skilful Application and Addrefs? And yet the Preacher obferved in his Days, and the obfervation holds good ftill, that it is not always thus: Time and Chance, fome favourable Junctures, and unfeen Accidents, are more Powerful than all Human Strength, or Art, or Skill.

Now what an ill ftate were Mankind in, did not a Wife and Merciful Hand govern what we call Chance and Fortune? How can God Govern the World, or difpofe of Mens Lives and Fortunes without governing Chance, all unfeen, unknown and furprizing Events, which difappoint the Counfels of the Wife, and in a moment unavoidably change the whole Scene of Human Affairs? Upon what little unexpected things do the Fortunes of Men, of Families, of whole Kingdoms turn? And unless these little unexpected things are governed by God, fome of the greatest Changes in the World are exempted from his Care and Providence.

This is reafon enough to believe, That if God governs the World, he governs Chance and Fortune; that the most unexpected Events, how Cafual foever they appear to us, are forefeen, and ordered by God.

Such Events as thefe are the propereft Objects of God's Care and Government; because they are very great Inftruments of Providence; many times the greatest things are done by them,

and

and they are the most visible demonftration of a Superior Wisdom and Power which governs the World: By thefe means God disappoints the Wisdom of the Wife, and defeats the Power of the Mighty; Fruftrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners mad; turneth wife men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish, 44. Ifa. 25. Did Strength and Wisdom always prevail, as in a great measure they would, were it not for fuch unfeen Disappointments, Mankind would take lefs notice of Providence, and would have lefs reafon to do it, fince they would be the more abfolute Mafters of their own Fortunes; a powerful combination of Sinners, managed by fome crafty Politicians,would govern the World: But the uncertain turnings and changes of Fortune keep Mankind in awe, make the moft profperous and powerful Sinners fear an unTeen Vengeance, and give Security to good Men against unfeen Evils, which cannot befal them without the Order and Appointment of God.

That there are a great many accidental and cafual Events, which happen to us all, and which are of great Confequence to the Happinefs or Miseries of our Lives, all Men fee and feel; that we cannot defend our felves from fuch unfeen Events, which we know nothing of, till we feel them, is as manifeft, as that there are fuch Events; and what so properly belongs to the Divine Care, as that which we our felves can take no care of? The Heathens made Fortune a Goddefs, and attributed the Government of all things to her, begv πάντα Whereby they only fignified the Government of Providence in all cafual and fortuitous Events; and if Providence governs any

thing, it must govern Chance, which governs almost all things elfe, and which none but God can govern. As far as Human Prudence and Forefight reaches, God expects we should take care of our felves; and if we will not, he füffers us to reap the Fruits of our own Folly; but when we cannot take care of our felves, we have reafon to expect and hope, that God will take care of us; in other Cafes, Human Prudence and Industry muft concur with the Divine Providence; in Matters of Chance and Accident, Providence muft act alone, and do all it felf, for we know nothing of it; fo that all the Arguments for Providence do moft ftrongly conclude for God's Government of all Cafual E

vents.

And the Scripture does as exprefly attribute all fuch Events to God, as any other Acts of Providence and Government. In the Law of Mofes, when a Man killed his Neighbour by accident, God is faid to deliver him into his Hands, 21. Exod. 12, 13. He that fmiteth a man, fo that be die, fhall be furely put to death. And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his Hands, then I will appoint thee a place, whither he shall flee: Where God's delivering him into his hands, is oppofed to him that fmiteth a Man, fo that he die; be and to him that comes presumptuously upon his neigh bour to flay him, 15. verfe; and therefore fignifies one who kills his Neighbour by mere Accident: As it is explained in 19. Deut. 4, 5. And this is the cafe of the flayer that shall flee thither, i. e. to the City of Refuge: Whofo killeth his neighbour ignorantly, whom he hated not in time paft: As when a man goeth into the wood with his neighbour to hew wood, and his band fetcheth a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the head flippeth from the belves

and

and lighteth upon his neighbour that he die, he shall flee unto one of thefe cities, and live. What can be more accidental than this? And yet we are affured, that this is appointed by the Divine Providence, that God delivers the Man who is killed, into the Hands of him that killed him.

Is any thing more cafual than a Lot? and yet Solomon tells us, The lot is caft into the lap, but the whole difpofing thereof is of the Lord, 16. Prov. 33. Which is not confined to the Cafe of Lots, but to fignify to us, That nothing is fo cafual and uncertain, as to be exempted from the disposal of Providence. For what feems accidental to us, is not Chance, but Providence; is ordered and appointed by God to bring to pass what his own Wisdom and Counsel has decreed: As is very evident from fome remarkable Inftances of Providence which are recorded in Scripture.

By how many feeming Accidents and cafual Events was Jofeph advanced to Pharaoh's Throne? His Dreams, whereby God foretold his Advancement, made his Brethren envious at him, and watch fome convenient opportunity to get rid of him, and fo confute his Dreams: Jacob fends Jofeph to vifit his Brethren in the Fields, where they were keeping their Sheep.; this gave them. an opportunity to execute their Revenge, and at firft they intended to murther him; but the Ishmaelites accidentally paffing by, they fold Fofeph to them, and they carried him into Egypt, and fold him to Potiphar. Potiphar's Wife tempts. him to Uncleannefs, and being denied by Jofeph, the accufes him to his Lord, who caft him into the King's Prison: Whilft he was there, the King's Butler and Baker were caft into the fame Prison, and dreamed their feveral Dreams, which Jofeph expounded to them, and the Event: E verified

verified his Interpretation. The Butler, who was restored to his Office, forgat Jofeph, till two Years after, Pharaoh dreamed a Dream, which none of the Wife Men could interpret, and then Jofeph was fent for, and advanced to the highest Place of Dignity and Power next to Pharaob: The Years of Famine brought JoJeph's Brethren into Egypt to buy Corn, where they bowed before him, according to his Dream; this occafioned the removal of Jacob and his whole Family into Egypt, where Jofeph placed them in the Land of Goshen, by which means God fulfilled what he had told Abraham; Know of a furety, That thy feed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and fhall ferve them, and they shall afflict them four hundred Years, 15. Gen. 13. How cafual does all this appear to us? But no Man will think that Prophecies are fulfilled by Chance, and therefore we must confefs, that what feems Chance to us, was appointed by God.

Thus God intended to deliver Ifrael out of Egypt by the Hands of Moses: Mofes was born at a time, when the King of Egypt had commanded, That every Son that was born to the Ifraelites fhould be caft into the River. His Mother hid him three Months, and being not able to conceal him any longer, expofed him in an Ark of Bulrushes among the Flags by the River fide: Pharaoh's Daughter came down to wash her self in the River, and finds the Ark with the Child in it; puts him to his own Mother to Nurfe, whereby he came to know his own Kindred and Relations, and to be inftructed in the Knowledge and Worship of the God of Ifrael. Afterwards Pharaoh's Daughter takes him home, and breeds him up as her own Son, whereby he

was