course of events, which are generally ascribed to natural causes and
human means. But philosophy as well as Revelation will satisfy the mind
of every impartial and deep enquirer, that nature must work under the
control and direction of the great Author of nature. It would be to
practically deny that God was the great governor of the universe, to
suppose that nature or chance was allowed, unchecked and unguided, to
produce the mighty results often referred to its sole agency. Sherlock
has stated this with great force and clearness. “The same wisdom and
power which made the world must govern it too: it is only a creating
power that can preserve: that which owes its very being to power must
depend upon the power that made it, for it can have no principle of
self-subsistence independent of its cause: it is only creating wisdom
that perfectly understands the nature of all things, that sees all the
springs of motion, that can correct the errors of nature, that can
suspend or direct the influence of natural causes, that can govern
hearts, change men’s purposes, inspire wisdom and counsel, restrain or
let loose their passions. It is only an Infinite Mind that can take care
of all the world; that can allot every creature its portion; that can
adjust the interests of states and kingdoms; that can bring good out of
evil, and order out of confusion.” {93} It would, therefore, be not less
unphilosophical than unchristian to ascribe to any spontaneous operations
of nature, a new and terrible pestilence, which has swept away more than
twenty millions of human beings from the face of the earth. Nor may it
be accounted for by an extraordinary combination of accidental
circumstances; for “the most unexpected events, how casual soever they
appear to us, are foreseen and ordered by God.” “For can we think
otherwise, when we see as many visible marks of wisdom, and goodness, and
justice, in what we call chance, as in any other acts of Providence?
Nay, when the wisdom of Providence is principally seen in the government
of fortuitous events? When we see a world wisely made, though we did not
see it made, yet we conclude, that it was not made by chance, but by a
Wise Being; and by the same reason, when we see accidental events, nay, a
long incoherent series of accidents concur to the producing the most
admirable effects, we ought to conclude, that there is a wise invisible
hand which governs chance, which of itself can do nothing wisely. When
the lives and fortunes of men, the fate of kingdoms and empires, the
successes of war, the changes of government are so often determined and
brought about by the most visible accidents; when chance defeats the
wisest counsels and greatest power; when good men are rewarded, and the
Church of God preserved by appearing chances; when bad men are punished
by chance, and the very chance whereby they are punished, carries the
marks of their sins upon it, for which they are punished; I say, can any
man in such cases think that all this is mere chance? When, how
accidental soever the means are or appear to be, whereby such things are
done, there is no appearance of chance at all in the event; but the
changes and revolutions, the rewards and punishments, are all as wisely
done, as if there had been nothing of chance and accident in it. This is
the great security of our lives amidst all the uncertainties of fortune,
that chance itself cannot hurt us without a Divine commission. This is a
sure foundation of faith, and hope, and trust in God; how calamitous and
desperate soever our external condition seems to be, that God never wants
means to help; that He has a thousand unseen ways, a whole army of
accidents and unexpected events at command to disappoint such designs,
which no visible art or power can disappoint, and to save those whom no
visible power can save.” {95} Nor may we suppose that this fearful
pestilence is merely permitted, and not appointed and directed by God.
“God’s government of events consists in ordering and appointing whatever
good or evil shall befall men; for according to the Scripture we must
attribute such a government to God, as makes all these events _His will
and doing_; and nothing can be His will and doing, but what He wills and
orders. Some men think it enough to say, that God permits every thing
that is done, but will by no means allow that God wills, and orders, and
appoints it, which, they are afraid, will charge the divine Providence
with all the evil that is done in the world; and truly so it would, did
God order and appoint the evil to be done; but though God orders and
appoints what evils every man shall suffer, He orders and appoints no man
to do the evil; He only permits some men to do mischief, and appoints who
shall suffer by it, which is the short resolution of the case. To
attribute the evils which some men suffer, merely to God’s permission, is
to destroy the government of Providence; for bare permission is not
government.” {96} We arrive, therefore, at the conclusion, that this
malady, which has traversed nearly the whole of two continents, is by the
will and appointment of God. And none need inquire wherefore it has been
sent. The dispensations of the Almighty are to reward or punish, warn
and amend nations and individuals. The fearful character of the
pestilence proves that it is to punish and warn the offending nations,
and may it also amend and lead them, through the grace of God, to humble
themselves under His mighty hand, and bow with submission to His just
judgments on a guilty world!
It is, therefore, the bounden duty of the servants of the Lord, every
where, privately and publicly, to bear testimony to God’s government of
nations and individuals. It is not sufficient that they believe, act
upon, and inculcate in their families, a trust in Divine Providence. The
great truth, that “THE MOST HIGH RULETH IN THE KINGDOM OF MEN,” {97a}
should be bound “for a sign on their heads, and as frontlets between
their eyes.” {97b} They should proclaim every where, that upon this
great fundamental principle, rest the prayer and worship addressed to
God.—“This much is certain,” observes Sherlock, “that without this
belief, that God takes a particular care of all his creatures, in the
government of all events that can happen to them, there is no reason nor
pretence for most of the particular duties of public worship. For most
of the acts of worship consider God not merely as an Universal Cause,
(could we form any notion of a general providence, without any care of
particular creatures, or particular events), but as our particular
Patron, Protector, and Preserver.
“To fear God, and to stand in awe of His justice; to trust and depend on
Him in all conditions; to submit patiently to His will, under all
afflictions; to pray to Him for the supply of all our wants, for the
relief of our sufferings, for protection and defence; to love and praise
Him for the blessings we enjoy, for peace, and plenty, and health, for
friends and benefactors, and all prosperous successes: I say, these are
not the acts of reasonable men, unless they believe that God has the
supreme disposal of all events, and takes a particular care of us. For
if any good or evil can befall us without God’s particular order and
appointment, we have no reason to trust in God, who does not always take
care of us; we have no reason to bear our sufferings patiently at God’s
hand, and in submission to His will; for we know not whether our
sufferings be God’s will or not; we have no reason to love and praise God
for every blessing and deliverance we receive, because we know not
whether it come from God; and it is to no purpose to pray to God for
particular blessings, if He does not concern Himself in particular
events; but if we believe that God takes a particular care of us all, and
that no good or evil happens to us but as He pleases; all these acts of
religious worship are both reasonable, necessary, and just.” {98}
The great duty of believers every where to declare and maintain, that
“GOD GOVERNETH ALL THINGS BOTH IN HEAVEN AND EARTH,” is dwelt upon more
at large, because a neglect,—if not a disbelief,—of a particular
Providence, which constitutes practical, and often tends to avowed
infidelity, has been already stated to be one of the most crying sins,—I
may almost say the most crying sin—of the day. Some openly disclaim all
belief in God’s government of the world; others admit it, but are not
influenced by it; and others acknowledge a general, but deny a particular
Providence. These latter appear not to be aware of the manifest
contradiction which their belief involves. “To talk of a general
Providence without God’s care and government of every particular creature
is manifestly unreasonable and absurd; for, whatever reasons oblige us to
own a Providence, oblige us to own a particular Providence. If creation
be a reason, why God should preserve and take care of what He has made;
this is a reason why He should take care of every creature, because there
is no creature, but what He made; and if the whole world consist of
particulars, it must be taken care of in the care of particulars; for if
all particulars perish, as they may do, if no care be taken to preserve
them, the whole must perish. And there is the same reason for the
government of mankind; for the whole is governed in the government of
parts; and mankind cannot be well governed without the wise government of
every particular man.” {99}
We may hope that secret disbelief, or open denial, of a Divine
Providence, does not exist to a great extent; but of this every observer
must be satisfied, that a practical disregard of God’s providential care
and government is gaining ground in this country. Nor are its effects to
be seen only in the conduct of individuals, they may be observed in the
proceedings of public bodies. Nothing can bespeak this more strongly,
than the altered language of the day as regards society, business, and
public transactions.
The time was when it was carefully framed in accordance with the
apostolic injunction, “for that ye ought to say IF THE LORD WILL, we
shall live and do this or that.” {100} Now it is evidently dictated by
that bold spirit of self-confidence, which “having not God in all its
thoughts,” says “to-day or to-morrow _we will go_ into such a city, and
continue there a year, and buy and sell and get gain.” Nor do the
actions of men in their public and private capacities contradict their
language. The time was, when this nation, sensible how highly it had
been blessed by Providence, and deeply grateful to the Giver of all good,
made it a rule to recognise the hand of God in all things. When His
chastisements were upon the land, there was a fast; when deliverance was
vouchsafed, there was a thanksgiving; every visitation was received as a
just infliction; every escape as an unmerited blessing. Such was the
conduct of the people and government, during their late struggle of
unexampled difficulty, through which the Providence of the Almighty
carried them in safety, and during which the soil of England alone was
untrodden by the foot of the invader, unstained by the blood of her sons.
Let, then, all the faithful servants of God, who believe in the
government and confide in the protection of His Providence, “be instant
in season and out of season,” to counteract this evil principle which
corrupts, paralyzes, and nullifies faith; which produces pride,
self-confidence, and self-complacency; and exposes to the severe
displeasure and heavy judgments of Him whom it “robbeth of the honour due
unto His name.” History, viewed by the aid of that light which
revelation has shed upon it, proves this incontestably, by supplying both
individual and national examples, with the latter of which we are, at
present, alone concerned.
All nations are under the government of the King of kings and Lord of
lords. “His kingdom ruleth over all;” all are instruments in His hand to
accomplish the secret purpose of His will. They may be rebellious and
disobedient, but they cannot harden themselves against God and prosper.
He exhorts and warns, He threatens and visits; but if they go on still in
their wickedness, they soon fill up the measure of their iniquity; the
messenger of justice speeds forth, the sentence is delivered, and they
cease to be a nation. It is thus great empires in succession have passed
away; human reason discovers in their rise, their progress, their decay,
and their destruction, nothing more than the ordinary operation of
natural causes; revelation raises the veil which envelopes the records of
remote antiquity, and discovers the workings of a Divine agency, by which
Providence overrules the selfish and short-sighted policy of man, to the
development of the mighty and mysterious plans which embrace the
government of the world. And that blind and presumptuous man may have no
ground to suppose, that the fate of empires is dependent solely upon
human causes, the overthrow of the guilty nations of antiquity, by the
Divine command, was foretold, and exactly fulfilled. Hence we may learn
the sudden and swift destruction, which neglect of Providence, disregard
of the authority, and disobedience to the commands of Him, who has said,
“I am the Lord, I change not,” {102} will, at last, bring upon any
Christian nation, which long continues to refuse the overtures of pardon
and reconciliation, made by a gracious, a merciful, and long-suffering
God. Predicted destruction overtook the Assyrian and Babylonian empires;
and the final desolation of their capitals was foretold. The book of the
prophet Nahum opens with “the burden of Nineveh,” which abounds with the
most powerful descriptions of the terrible overthrow of the Assyrian
empire, and the utter desolation of its vast and splendid capital.
Zephaniah looks still further into futurity, and presents a sad but
faithful picture of its final doom. “THE LORD WILL BE TERRIBLE UNTO
THEM:”—“_And he will stretch out his hand __against the north_, _and
destroy Assyria_; _and will make Nineveh a desolation_, _and dry like the
wilderness_. And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the
beasts of the nations; both the cormorant and the bittern shall lodge in
the upper lintels of it: their voice shall sing in the windows,
desolation shall be in the thresholds; for He shall uncover the
cedar-work. This is the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly, that said
in her heart, _I am_, _and there is none beside me_: how is she become a
desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in; every one that passeth by
her shall hiss and wag his head.” {103a} So literally have these
striking images of entire and lonely desolation been fulfilled, that in
the second century, the very site of the once proud and famous capital of
the Assyrian empire was matter of dispute. And as the ruin of Babylon
was equally complete, so the language of prophecy is equally clear and
descriptive of its entire destruction, “O thou that dwellest upon many
waters, abundant in treasures, thy end is come and the measure of thy
covetousness. Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she
should fortify the height of her strength, _yet from_ ME _shall spoilers
come unto her_, _saith the Lord_. Oh Lord, thou hast spoken against this
place to cut it off, that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast,
but that it shall be desolate for ever.” {103b}
Nor was the fate of these empires and cities alone foretold: the long
degradation of Egypt, which has been so exactly fulfilled, was predicted:
“it shall be the basest of the kingdoms, neither shall it exalt itself
any more above the nations: FOR I WILL DIMINISH THEM, THAT THEY SHALL NO
MORE RULE OVER THE NATIONS.” {104a} The evils impending over rich and
proud Tyre, whilst still in the plenitude of her power and greatness were
announced by Isaiah in terms very applicable to that great emporium of
commerce: “Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is of ancient days?
her own feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn. Who hath taken this
counsel against Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants are princes,
whose traffickers are the honourable of the earth? THE LORD OF HOSTS
HATH PURPOSED IT, to stain the pride of all glory, and to bring into
contempt all the honourable of the earth. HE _stretched out His hand
over the sea_; HE _shook the kingdoms_: _the_ LORD _hath given a
commandment against the merchant city_, _to destroy the strong holds
thereof_.” {104b} But it was reserved for Ezekiel to foretell the full
extent of the fearful ruin which was to overtake this renowned city: and
he has done so, in terms so brief, and yet so minutely descriptive of its
present state, as to have excited the observation of all modern
travellers: “_it shall __be a place for the spreading of nets in the
midst of the sea_, FOR I HAVE SPOKEN IT, SAITH THE LORD GOD: and it shall
become a spoil to the nations.” {105a} “I WILL MAKE _thee like the top
of a rock_: thou shalt be a place to spread nets upon, thou shalt be
built no more; for I the Lord have spoken it, saith the Lord God.” {105b}
Thus, when Maundrell visited the ruins of Tyre, he found “its present
inhabitants to be a few wretches, subsisting chiefly by fishing, who seem
to be preserved in this place by Divine Providence, as a visible argument
how God has fulfilled His word concerning Tyre.”
Nor were the predictive denunciations of Divine vengeance upon sinful
nations, confined to times of a very remote antiquity:—the prophet’s eye
glancing through the long vista of coming years, foresaw, and his voice
foretold, the empire which the Ruler of the destiny of nations had
decreed to Greece and Rome. But there is a people which remain unto this
day, at once a living testimony to the truth of Divine revelation, and a
living monument of the certainty of Divine punishment. From the Jews
this country may draw a very instructive lesson; for there are some
striking points of agreement in their earlier history, and would that
there the parallel might stop! The Jews were the peculiar people of
God.—“Thou art a holy people unto the Lord thy God: _the Lord thy God
hath chosen thee_ to be a special people unto Himself, above all people
that are on the face of the earth:” this kingdom has also long enjoyed an
extraordinary degree of favour, protection, and blessing, at the hand of
God. “The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, _because
ye were more in number than any people_, _for_ ye were the fewest of all
people: in like manner the population of this country was small in
comparison with that of many of the surrounding nations. The Jews were
selected that unto them might be “committed the oracles of God:” so also
this country appears to have been appointed, by Providence, to preserve
the holy Scriptures from misinterpretation or perversion. The Jews were
employed to convey to the Gentiles some knowledge of the one true God: in
like manner this country appears to have been raised up to diffuse
amongst distant nations the light of the Gospel. When grateful for
Divine blessings, mindful of the Divine government, and obedient to the
Divine laws, the Jews were abundantly blessed, and their wealth and
greatness were far more than commensurate with the extent of their
territory; and the resources of the kingdom: in like manner God has
elevated this country to a rank amongst the nations to which her native
dominions did not justify her aspiring. He has enriched her with the
treasures of the world, and has invested her with an empire upon which
the sun never sets. So far the points of agreement are striking on the
bright side of the picture of Jewish history; but there is also a dark
side; let that also be examined, to see if there can be discovered any
shades of resemblance. The Jews were thus exhorted and warned:—“When
thou hast eaten and art full, _then thou shalt bless_ THE LORD THY GOD,
for the good land which HE HAS GIVEN THEE. Beware that thou forget not
the Lord thy God, in not keeping His commandments, and His judgments, and
His statutes, which I command thee this day: lest when thou hast eaten
and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein: and when
thy herds and thy flocks multiply; and thy silver and thy gold is
multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied: _then thine heart be
lifted up_, _and thou forget the_ LORD THY GOD,—_and thou say in thine
heart_, _my power and the might of my hand hath gotten me this wealth_.
_But thou shalt remember the_ LORD THY GOD, _for it is_ HE THAT GIVETH
THEE POWER _to get wealth_. And it shall be if thou do at all forget the
Lord thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship
them, I testify against you this day that _ye shall surely perish_.”
{107} Nor were they left in ignorance as to what would be the ministers
of Divine vengeance; unfruitful seasons; and deadly pestilence; and
foreign invasion, with its fearful attendants, the slaughter of the
inhabitants, and the devastation of their land, were all declared to be
instruments, in God’s hand, to punish His ungrateful and rebellious
people. Nor did the fearful enumeration of judicial inflictions stop
there; they were forewarned of lengthened sieges, of the most frightful
extremity of famine, of long and weary captivity in distant lands. Still
there was reserved for them,—if they would not know their day of
visitation,—a heavier, a more lasting and more terrible punishment. “THE
LORD _shall scatter thee among all people_, from the one end of the earth
even unto the other.” “_And thou shalt become an astonishment_, _a
proverb_, _and a by-word among all nations_, _whither the Lord shall lead
thee_.” {108}
The literal fulfilment of this prediction is matter of history;—nay,
more, the accomplishment of the last and most terrible threat is matter
of present experience; we have, unto this day, the Jews scattered amongst
all people, distinct in religion, polity, and customs; unmingled with the
population, unincorporated in the institutions of the nations amongst
whom they sojourn: we see them a byword, a proverb, and an astonishment,
in every land: and can it be that we do not discover in them a living
memorial of the Divine government of the world, and of the Divine
justice, which sooner or later overtakes every nation, which does not
recognise God’s authority in all things, and study to obey His laws. The
condition of the Jew speaks to the Christian the language of warning and
admonition: “you possess privileges I once enjoyed: I forfeited them by
trusting to my own right arm, by forsaking God, by not knowing the day of
my visitation: take heed lest ye come into the same state of
condemnation; for it is God who ruleth in Jacob, and unto the end of the
world.”
Let not the warning be addressed in vain: there are fearful points of
resemblance between this country and the Jews in the darker side of their
national character, when the chosen people of the Lord. We are too much
disposed “to say in our hearts, my power, and the might of my hand, hath
gotten me this wealth:” and there is a love of the world, which falls
little short of idolatry;—there is a trusting to fortune, and an
ascribing events to chance and natural causes, which almost amount to
deifying fortune and nature. Let, then, all the true servants of God, by
their prayers, and their labours, seek, in dependence on God’s blessing,
a remedy of these great and growing evils. Let them appeal to the
experience of the past; let them prove from sacred history that nations,
which exalted themselves, have always been abased, which humbled
themselves, have always been exalted: let them shew from our own history
how we have been blessed and preserved, and how we have prospered and
flourished, when our trust has been in God, who alone “IS HE THAT GIVETH
STRENGTH AND POWER UNTO HIS PEOPLE: BLESSED BE GOD!” {110a} Let them
bear public testimony at once to the justice and mercy of His
visitations; for whilst the pestilence speaks the language of wrath: “WOE
TO THE REBELLIOUS CHILDREN, SAITH THE LORD, THAT TAKE COUNSEL, BUT NOT OF
ME, and that cover with a covering, but not of My Spirit, that they may
add sin to sin:” {110b} it speaks also the language of merciful warning
and gracious exhortation: “As MANY AS I LOVE, I REBUKE AND CHASTEN: BE
ZEALOUS, THEREFORE, AND REPENT.” {110c}