things work together for good to them who love him? Is it not, then, our greatest happiness, that when man deviseth, God directeth? Is it not far better for us us than if the case were reversed; if the all-wise God were only ineffectually to devise, and man, blind, and ignorant, and rash as he is, were to have the full direction of his own steps? Wherefore vex not thyself in vain. To the unavoidable evils of life, add not this evil of thine own procuring, a tormenting anxiety about the success of thy designs. The great rule both of religion and wisdom is, Do thy duty, and leave the issue to Heaven. Commit thy way unto the Lord. Act thy part fairly and as wisely as thou canst, for thine apparent interest; and then, with a steady and untroubled mind, wait for what God shall see meet to appoint. This is wisdom; all beyond this is vanity and folly.

In the second place, the doctrine of the text is calculated not only to repress anxiety, but to enforce moderation of mind in every state; it humbles the pride of prosperity, and prevents that despair which is incident to adversity. The presumption of prosperity is the source both of vices and mischiefs innumerable. It renders men forgetful of God and religion. It intoxicates them with the love, and immerses them in the indulgence of pleasure. It hardens their hearts to the distresses of their brethren. Now, consider, how little ground the real situation of the most prosperous man affords for this vain elation of mind. He is dependent every moment on the pleasure of a superior; and knows not but Providence may be just preparing for him the most un

foreseen reverses. Shall he boast himself of to-morrow, who knoweth not what a day may bring forth? He hath perhaps said in his heart, My mountain stands strong; I shall never be moved. But God needeth only to hide his face, and presently he is troubled. That little eminence on which he stood, and from which he surveyed with pride his fellow-creatures below him, was no more than an eminence of dust. The Almighty blows upon it with the breath of his mouth, and it is scattered. Belongs it to him whose tenure of prosperity is so insecure, to utter the voice of contempt, or to lift the rod of oppression over his fellows, when over his own head is stretched that high arm of Heaven, which levels, at one touch, the mighty with the low?

The government of God is accompanied with this signal advantage, that at once it humbles the proud, and revives the distressed. As long as we believe in one higher than the highest, to whom all must look up, the greatest man is taught to be modest, and to feel his dependence; and the lowest man has an object of continual resource and hope. Injured by men, he can fly to that righteous Governor who rules the earth, and from his interposition hope for better days. Providence is the great sanctuary to the afflicted who maintain their integrity. Consolation they always find in the belief of it; and often there has issued from this sanctuary the most seasonable relief. There issues from it, at all times, this voice of comfort; Trust in the Lord, and do good; and so thou shalt dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.* Thine enemies may conspire;

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* Psalm xxxvii. 3.

the Heathen may rage, and the people imagine a vain thing. But he that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall hold them in derision. For the Lord is the keeper of Israel; he is the shield of the righteous. As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people from henceforth and for ever.

IN the third place, the doctrine that has been illustrated, of the interposal of Providence in all human affairs, places the vanity and folly of all sinful plans in a very strong light.-All sin, in every view of it, must be attended with danger. He who embarks in any unjust or criminal enterprise, besides the manifest peril to his own soul, incurs the risk of his character being discovered, and of meeting with hatred, contempt, and just resentment from the world. One would think that when the consequences on one side are so dangerous, the bribe on the other side must be very high, and the prospect of success very fair and promising. Now consider how this matter truly stands. The sinner hath against him, first, that general uncertainty which I before showed to take place in all the designs and projects formed by men. Could the most artful and best devised means always ensure success to the end we sought to obtain, some apology might then be made for departing occasionally from the path of rectitude. But it is far from being true, that such road to sure success can, on any occasion, be found. On the contrary, we every day see the most plausible and best concerted plans baffled and thrown to the ground; and

*Psalm cxxv. 2.

there is nothing which on many occasions has been more remarked, than Providence seeming to make sport of the wisdom of man.

This view of things alone were sufficient to show to the sinner the insecurity and danger of the system on which he acts. But there is much more against him than this. For he, by his guilty plans, hath engaged against himself one certain and most formidable enemy, to whom he hath great reason to look up with terror. He cannot possibly believe that the righteous Governor of the universe beholds with an equal eye the designs of the virtuous who honour him, and the designs of the guilty who despise his laws, and do injustice to his servants. No; against these latter, Providence hath pointed its darts, hath bent its bow in the heavens; the face of the Lord is again them that do evil.* Other designs may fail; but those of the wicked, God is concerned in overthrowing. It is true, that this life is not the season of rendering to every man according to his works. But though retribution does not on every occasion take place at present, yet neither is the exercise of Divine justice always delayed. The history of the world is continually furnishing us with examples of the wicked taken in their own devices; of the crafty snared in the works of their own hands; of sinners falling into the pit which themselves had digged. How often, when signal crimes were ready to be perpetrated, hath God remarkably interposed; hath spread his shield before the just, unnerved the arm of the assassin, or struck a sudden damp into his mind at the critical moment! Obnoxious then as the sinner is to so many

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* Psalm xxxiv. 16.

dangers: exposed perpetually to the disappointment of his designs by the uncertainty of human events; exposed over and above to the avenging interposition of Heaven; what strange infatuation has tempted him to depart from the plain and safe path of integrity?

In the last place, from all that has been said on this subject, we clearly see how much it concerns us to perform those duties which a proper regard to Providence requires, and to obtain protection from that Power which directeth and disposeth all. A more incontrovertible axiom there cannot be than this, that if man only deviseth his way, while God overrules his devices, and directs his steps, an interest in God's favour is far more important than all the wisdom and ability of man. Without his favour, the wisest will be disappointed and baffled; under his protection and guidance, the simple are led in a plain and sure path.-In vain would the giddy and profane throw Providence out of their thoughts, and affect to think and act as if all depended on themselves. This boldness of self-sufficiency is affectation, and no more. For moments there are, when the man of stoutest heart feels the strong subjection under which he is held, and would gladly grasp at the aid of Heaven. As long as human affairs proceed in a smooth train, without any alarming presages of change or danger, the man of the world may remain pleased with himself, and be fully confident in his own powers. But whose life continues long so undisturbed? Let any uncommon violence shake the elements around him, and threaten him with destruction; let the aspect of public affairs