WE are to consider the facts and circumstances which confirm the
doctrine that the Lord's providence is at once universal and
particular; and indeed that he leads us by a way unknown to
ourselves.
And who that has reflected upon his own life, or upon the life of
others, or upon the current events of the day, will not bear witness
to the universal application of this principle?
Look to the affairs of the world, to the nations and governments of
all the earth, and tell me, where is anything turning out according
to the forethought and prudence of man?
Look to the movements of our own country, and say whether human
prudence ever devised what we behold? What party or what individuals
have ever, in the long run, brought things about as they expected?
And how is it in our own city, and under our own eyes?
In the societies of the church, and in organizations for church
extension, the same rule applies. And I might ask, where does it not
apply? I might give examples. But this is unnecessary, when they are
so numerous, and so fresh in the memory of every one.
But when we turn to the experience of individuals, we meet with the
most unlimited application of our subject. The life of every one is
a standing memento of its truth. For who is there, that has come to
his present stand-point in life, by the route that he had marked out
for himself? I will imagine that ten, fifteen, or twenty years ago
each one of you fixed on your plan of life, for a longer or shorter
period. It matters not what the original plan was. It matters not
what prudence, sagacity, and forethought were employed in making it.
It matters not how much money and power have come to the support of
it. Still its parts have never been filled up as you originally
sketched them.
Many particulars were altered and amended, from day to day, as you
went along. Some things were abandoned as useless; some as hopeless;
some as impossible; some as injurious; some things were neglected,
and others forgotten. An unknown hand now and then interposed,
turning the tables entirely. An unaccountable influence was found
operating on certain individuals, changing their tone, and modifying
their conduct. An unknown individual has come alongside of you, and
has become your friend. He has mingled his emotions and his plans
with yours. You have modified your plans. He has changed his.
Business and commerce have taken an unexpected turn. You are the
gainer or the loser, it matters not; your plans are changed by the
event. An intimate friend has left you and become your open enemy;
an open enemy has been reconciled and has returned to the affection
and confidence of your heart. Your plans in life have to be changed
to suit such events as these. Several friends and relatives, that
were near to you, have been removed into the spiritual world. It may
be that by such providences, your feelings, thoughts, and actions
have been changed--changed utterly and for ever. Darkness of mind,
gloominess of life, and anguish of spirit may have come upon you, by
some such unexpected providence, and thus your plans may have been
changed, or even utterly abandoned.
But beyond matters of this description, which are somewhat external,
and as we say accidental, and certainly incidental, to a life in
this world, and in all of which we are led in a way that we know
not; there are unexpected changes of another kind, that we all have
experienced. I now refer to changes in the inner man, and in the
inner life.
For there is a Divinity within us that shapes our ends, and while
the things of the outward life remain much the same, we experience
changes of the inner life, that are at times amazing and terrible.
They come like the swelling of the tide, and like the beating of the
waves rolling on from a distant ocean; the deep emotions of the soul
arise and swell and sweep away; the fire of thought is kindled; the
imagination paints the canvas; the tongue stands ready to utter the
influx of love and wisdom; and the hand to illustrate it.
As these internal states of the soul change, by conjunction with the
Lord and communion with Heaven, on the one hand; or by opposition to
God and alliance with Hell, on the other, we see all things of the
outward world in a different light.
The changes of our internal man are, to appearance, much more
directly of the Lord's Divine Providence, than the events of the
outward life. Nevertheless, the two are so related by the
constitution of the mind, that each individual determines, in
rationality and freedom, which of the emotions and thoughts of the
_inner life_, he will bring forth into _ultimate acts_; and it is
here that the man may ally himself with the good and the true on one
hand, or with the evil and the false on the other; and in this
manner determine his destiny for heaven or hell.
The practical bearings of our subjects hinge chiefly on this; we are
to confide in the Lord; lean upon his great arm; and look to Him,
with the assurance that although He leads us by a way that we know
not, nevertheless He is leading us aright; and if we trust to Him,
and do His will, He will finally bring us to heaven.
Casting our eyes from one extreme of the Lord's vast dominions to
the other, we find the same Divine Providence everywhere operating
and operative. The angels of heaven, from the highest to the lowest,
are continually led by the Lord in paths that they have not known;
darkness is made light before them, and crooked things straight.
Nevertheless they are not led into infinite good nor infinite
delight. For this would be impossible. But constantly they are led
into a higher degree of good than they would naturally choose; and
they are defended from evil into which they would naturally subside.
So also it is with us.
Hence we may rest assured, that however meagre may be the good we
experience, it is vaster by far than we should inherit, if we had
been permitted to carry out our own plans and to have our own way in
those numerous particulars in which we have been frustrated in our
plans and disappointed in our hopes.