and he heard me, yea he delivered me out of all my fear, v. 8. 9. He fets forth his goodness toward all that serve him. O taft and fee how gracious the Lord is. Blessed is the Man that trusteth in him. O fear the Lord ye that are his Saints : for they that fear him lack. nothing. It were endless to pursue inftances of this kind through the Pfalms, I will content my self with one place full enough for my purpose, 'tis Pfalm. 44. in v. 8. he has these words, In God we boast all the Day long, and praife thy Name for ever. Thefe words defcribe the Influence of Succefs and Profperity upon David, or rather they are the refult of his reflections upon the glorious progress of Ifrael's arms, against the Canaanites. Tracing all back to the firft caufe, and finding that the extraordinary Iffue of that War was not owing to the conduct of Mofes, and Joshua, or to the number and courage of the Armies of Ifrael; but to the protection, and favour of God, he eafily from thence inferred, That it was in him alone,they ought all times to confide; That he is their strength and Salvation; and therefore ought to be their Glory, and their foy, their praife and their hope; they got not the Land in pof A a 3 Lefiorn Seffion by their own Sword, nor was it their own Arm that helped them, but it was his right hand, and the might of thine Arm, and the Light of thy countenance, becanse thou hadst a favour unto them. In all this therefore he could difcern no temp. tation to Pride and Elation of Mind, to confidence and fecurity, to Infolence and Vanity, but plain and invincible Reasons of humility and dependance upon God, of Thanksgiving and Praises to him; and accordingly he refolves, In God will we boaft all the Day long, and Praife thy Name for ever. Thus did the Pfalmift and the Apostle ferve God in all humility of mind, and thus muft we serve him too; we cannot be Chriftians unless God be all in all to us, the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and end, unless we look upon him, as the Source and fpring of all good, the object of our joy and glory, and the ultimate end of our defires and hopes. 2. My next motive to boating in God and in him alone is this. That we have received all from him, 'tis a great truth, that every good gift comes down from above, whether they be natu ral endowments, or Worldly poffeffions all is from God; all that we are born born to, and all that we acquire, Judgment, Courage, Wit, Eloquence, Wealth, Power, Favour, and the like, all these we certainly owe to God. As to the gifts of nature none, unless athe tical, can doubt; and as to all others of what fort foever, Reafon will eafily teach us, that the Soveraignty and Dominion of God, extends as far as his Creation, and what his power produces, his Wifdom and Goodness must and does difpofe of. We fhall bemuch confirmed in this opinion, if we confider that those attainments, and acquifitions, which feem with the beft colour to be attributed to our feves, depend upon fo many things which God has placed without our Power, and reserved to his own, that we must be forced to confefs that Man's good Success, even in these, is owing efpecially to the favour and concurrence of God. Thus what is there that Man can with better right afcribe to his Study, and Experience, to application of mind and diligence,than Learning and Prudence? And yet it is fo notorious, that these depend upon feveral capacities of nature, and various circumftances of Fortune, and Education; and thefe again upon God, A a 4 that that we cannot give the Glory of these to Man without being guilty of Sacrilege towards God. Hence it is that after Solomon has commanded us to feek for Wisdom, as Silver, and fearch for her as hid Treafure, he adds this as a motive and encouragement to it, for the Lord giveth Wisdom; out of his mouth cometh Knowledge and Understanding, Prov. 2. 6. So amicably do divine Providence, and human industry agree together. How natural does it seem to aflign Victory to Courage and Conduct, and yet he who excludes Providence here, must be injurious to God, and partial to Man, for not to examine how far Courage and Conduct are owing to God, he must be a very heedlefs Reader of Hiftory, who has not remarked, that the event of War depends upon a Thousand circumstances, and cafualties intirely in the disposal of God, whence nothing is more common than that the wife and daring miscarry ; While fuccefs waits upon Men of a very different character, not to multiply inftances, that beloved Wealth which is the incitement and reward of human Art, Skill and Industry is, after all, the largefs of Divine Bounty, Wind and Weather, I Weather, the countinance and favour of Man, with a Thousand other accidents are neceffary to acquire it, and to preserve it, a wakefull providence which must guard it against a Thoufand casualties, to which it is hourly liable, hence now it is that as the Scripture tells us, it is God who giveth Victory in Battle. So it tells us alfo it is God who giveth Man power to get Wealth, Deut. 8. 18. What is now the inference from all this; even that of St. Paul, 1 Cor. 4. 7. For who maketh thee to differ from another, and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didft receive it, why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it. It is arrogance and Pride,to affume to our felves, what we owe to the Goodness of God: We ought to think and fay of all we have, as Jacob did to Efau, of his Children and Flocks. Thefe are the Children which the Lord hath gracioully given me, and again the Lord hath dealt graciously with me, and I have enough, Gen. 23. 11. And if we derive all from God, acknowledgment and praise is the leaft Sacrifice we can make him; as every good thing flows from his Bounty, and every profperous Man |