2. His providences, if duly observed, promote holiness by stop- ping up our way to sin. O if men would but note the designs of God in his preventive providences, how useful would it be to keep them upright and holy in their ways ! For why is it that the Lord so often hedges up our way with thorns, as it is, Hos. ii. 6. but that we should not find our paths to sin ? Why doth he clog us but to prevent our straying from him ? 2 Cor. xii. 7. '' Lest I should be *' exalted above measure, there was given me a thom in the flesh, " a messenger of Satan to buffet me." O it is good to attend to these works of God, and study the meaning of them ! Sometimes providence crosseth a hopeful, thriving project to advance our es- tate, and frustrates all our labours and cares ; why is this ? but to hide pride from man. Shouldst thou prosper in the world, that prosperity might be thy snare, and make thee a proud, sensual, vam soul ; the Lord Jesus sees this, and therefore withdraws the food and fuel from thy corruptions.
It may be thou hast a crazy, diseased, weak body ; thoulabour- est often under infirmities : In this the wisdom and care of God over thy soul is manifested; for wert thou not so clogged, how pro- bable is it that much more guilt might be contracted ? Your po- verty doth but clog your pride ; reproaches clog your ambition ; want prevents wantonness ; sickness of body conduces to the pre- vention of many inward gripes of conscience and groans under guilt.
3. The providences of God may be observed to conduce to our holiness; not only preventing sin that we may not fall into it; but also purging our sins when we are iallen into them *, Isa. xxvii. 9. " By this therefore shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged ; and '' this is all the fruit to take away his sin." So Dan. xi. 33, 34, 35. they are of the same use that fire and water are for purging and cleansing ; not that they can purge us from sin in their own virtue and power, for if so, those that have most afflictions would
* God would not suffer instruments to rub so hard, if it were not to fetch out the dirt that is ingrained in our natures: He loves pwnV;/ so well, he had rather see a hole than a spot in his child's garment. CurnaVs Christian Arimw^ part 2. p, 221.
460 DIVINE CONDUCT ; OR,
have most grace also : but it is in the virtue of Christ's blood, and God's blessing upon afflictive providences that they purge us from sin. A cross without a Christ never did any man good. Now in God's afflictive providences for sin there are many things that tend to the purging of it. For,
1 . Such rebukes of providence discover the displeasure of God against us : the Lord frowns upon us in those providences. Our Father is angry, and these are the tokens of it ; and nothing works more to the melting of a gracious heart than this. Must not the heart of a child melt and break whilst the Father is angry ? O this is more bitter to our spirits than all the smart and anguish of the affliction can be to our flesh. See Psal. xxxviii. 1, 2, S. " O " Lord rebuke me not in thy wrath ; neither chasten me in thy hot " displeasure; for thine arrows stick fast in me; and thine hand " presseth me sore. There is no soundness in my flesh because of " thine anger : Neither is there any rest in my bones because of '' my sin."
2. By these rebukes for sin, the evil of sin is discovered more sensibly to us, and we are made to see more clearly the evil of it in these glasses of affliction which providence at such times sets before us, than formerly we ever saw, Jer. ii.. 19. " Thine own wicked- " ness shall correct thee ; and thy backsliding shall reprove thee ; " know therefore and see, that it it is an evil thing and bitter, that ^' thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not " in thee, saith the Lord God of hosts." O the gall and worm- wood that we taste in it, under God's rebukes for it !
3. Providence blasts and frustrates all sinful projects to the peo- ple of God : whoever thrives in them, they shall not, Isa. xxx. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. And this also convinces them of the folly that is in sin, and makes them cleave to the way of simplicity and integrity.
4. Holiness is promoted in the soul by cautioning and warning the soul against sin for time to come, J0I3 xxxiv. 31. "I have borne " chastisements, I will not offend any more." O happy provi- dences, how smart soever, that make the soul for ever afraid of sin ! Surely such rods are well bestowed. This gives God his end : and if ever we sorrowed after a godly sort, in the day of your troubles it will work this carefulness, 2 Cor. vii. 11. " Bc- " hold, this self-same thing that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, " what carefulness it wrought in you ?" &c. O, if ever a man have been under a sanctified rod, which hath shewed him the evil of sin, and kindly humbled him for it ; and a temptation should again solicit him to the same evil : why thinks he, what a madness is it for me to buy repentance at so dear a rate ? Have I not smart- ed enough already ? You may as well ask me, whether I shall run again into the fire, after I have been already scorched in it ?
THE MYSTERY OF PROVIDENCE. 431
5. To conclude; providences do greatly improve and promote holiness by drawing the soul into the presence of God, and giving it the opportunity and occasion of much communion with him. Comfortable providences will do this ; they will melt a man's heart in love to the God of his mercies, and so pain his bowels that he shall not be quiet till he have found a place to pour out his soul iit thankfulness to the Lord, 2 Sam. vii. 18.
Afflictive providences will drive us to the feet of God, and there make us to judge and condemn ourselves. And all this hath an excellent use to destroy sin, and promote holiness in the soul.
Lastly, The consideration and study of providence will he of sin- gular tise to us in a dying hour.
Hereby we treasure up that which will singularly sweeten our death to us, and greatly assist our faith in the last encounter. You find when Jacob died, what reflections he had upon the dealings of God with him in the various providences of his life: See Gen. xlviii. 3, 7, 15, 16. In like manner, you find Joshua recording the providences of God, when at the brink of the grave: they were the subject of his dying discourse, Joshua xxiv. And I cannot but think it a sweet close to the life of any Christian : It must needs sweeten a death-bed to recount there the several remarkable pas- sages of God's care and love to us from our beginning to that day : to reflect upon the mercies that went along with us all the way, when we are come to the end of it. O Christians, treasure up these instances for such a time as that is, that you may go out of the world blessing God for all the goodness of truth he hath per- formed to you all your life long. Now the meditations of these things must needs be of great use in that day, if you consider the following particulars.