The divine will considered in its eternal decrees, and holy execution of them. By Edward Polhill of Burwash in Sussex Esquire

CHAP. VII. Of the Works of Conservation and Gubernation. (Book 7)

HAving briefly touched upon Creati∣on, I procede to its appendants, Conservation and Gubernation. The Al∣mighty and All-wise Creator is not as man, who builds a House or Ship and leaves it, but like a faithful Creator, he repairs the House of the World by his Conservation, and steers the Ship of it by his Gubernation, and that according to the Counsel of his own Will; aliter mun∣dus nè per ictum oculi stare poterit, as the Father expresses it.

And first, as touching Conservation, I shall demonstrate four things.

• 1. That no Creature can preserve it self.
• 2. That no Fellow-creature can pre∣serve another.
• ...

• 3. That the Preservation of all is from God.
• 4. That it is from God according to his Decree.

1. That no Creature can preserve it self; and this is clear

1. From the Creatures Station; even the highest Seraphin stands juxta non esse, at the brink of Nullity, his Being is be∣tween two Nothings, Nothing negative and Nothing privative: and as his passage from Nothing into Being could not be without an infinite Power creating; so his natural fall from Being into Nothing would certainly be without an infinite Power conserving. Creatur a habet redire ad non esse à se; if God should but say to the highest Angel, Tolle quod tuum est & abi, he must immediately away into Nullity. All Creatures by their natural vanity press downwards towards nothing, as their own Centre, and none but the Al∣mighty shoulders can bear them up in Being.

2. From God's Royal Prerogative, which the Scripture most emphatically decyphers out, as it were in Figures of Glory: He only hath immortality, 1 Tim. 6. 16. as if there were none at all in An∣gels

and Rational Spirits: Nay, there is None besides him, 1 Sam. 2. 2. as if there were no Being at all in the Creature. And the reason of these expressions is this; God hath Being and Immortality original∣ly from himself, but the Creature hath them but derivatively and in a depen∣dence upon him; wherefore in compari∣son of his Being Creatures are but nulli∣ties, and in comparison of his Immorta∣lity Angels are but smoak. But now if a Creature could preserve it self in Being, and so immortalize it self, it would be∣come a Self-subsistence, and consequently a God unto it self.

2. That no Creature can preserve an∣other, (I mean as a principal Agent) and this is evident; for

1. If one Creature might so preserve another, it should be a God to it, yet so weak as not to preserve it self: But if it could preserve another, it must be by some transfusion of virtue into it, and that but finite, (for more a Creature cannot give;) and then if God transfuse as much virtue into the Creature conserved as the Creature conservant did, the Creature conserved might subsist of it self, and be a God to it self.

2. The nature of Conservation evinces this: What is it but an Influx of Being? Now suppose all the Angels in Heaven would try to guard the poorest Worm in the Earth, and that but for one moment only, what could they do towards an In∣flux of Being? being only streams from God, as light from the Sun; If the Sun be gone, who can keep light in the Air? If Jehovah withdraw, who can keep Being in the Creature? All the Creatures are (as I may so say) sensible of this depen∣dance, and look up to God for their pre∣servation, Psal. 104. 27. which leads me to the next thing,

3. That the preservation of all is from God; as of him, so through him are all thing, Rom. 11. 36. and this appears

1. By a survey of all the Creatures; Angels are under God the strongest of Spirits, but cannot subsist one moment without him; he is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, Heb. 1. 7. he is making the Angels even to this day by a daily Conservation; their Immortality is a continual. Spiration from the Father of Spirits. The Heavens are the strongest of Bodies, yet cannot stand alone; God is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 building his stories in the Heavens, Amos 9. 6. he is still a build∣ing

of them, or else all those glorious Arches would totter down; If he be but angry, the Pillars of Heaven tremble and are agast, Job 26. 11. If he withdraw his hand, all the heavenly Volumes pass away as a Scroll, and out go the fair Letters of Sun, Moon and Stars in the twinkling of an Eye. The Earth is the Centre of the World, and as to Sense it hangs upon no∣thing, as if it were only poised by its own gravity; but this created Centre is bore up by the infinite Centre of all Being, and as to Faith and Reason hangs upon him; The pillars of it are the Lord's, 1 Sam. 2. 8. he by his strength setteth fast the mountains, Psal. 65. 6. or else they would be wavering towards nullity. The Sea is a vast spreading Element, but (lest it should be contracted into nothing) it is held in the hollow of his hand, Isai. 40. 12. and that imports no less than a preserva∣tive comprehension. All the numberless Birds in the Air, Beasts in the Earth, and Fishes in the Sea wait on him for their preservation; the sending forth of his Spirit is their Being, the opening of his hand their Provision, and the shadow of his wings their Protection; not a Spar∣row forgotten before him; not a poor

Fly without an infinite Preserver. Man (who is the Epitome of all the rest) can∣not but own him; O how soon would the earthen Pitcher break, if he did not keep it! how soon would the Lamp of the Soul go out, if he did not light it e∣ven every moment! Hence God is stiled the preserver of men, Job 7. 20. a most uni∣versal preserver, even from the utmost hairs which are numbred by him, Matth. 10. 30. unto the inmost spirit which is preserved by his visitation, Job 10. 12. Thus running through the whole Catalogue of Crea∣tures we must conclude with St. Austin, Deus est per omnia diffusus, non ut quali∣tas mundi, sed ut substantia cratrix; sine labore regens, & sine onere continens omnia.

2. By the very nature of Preservation, what is it but continuata Creatio? God is still a making the Angels, and building the Heavens, my Father worketh hitherto, saith Christ, Joh. 5. 17. He doth per inti∣mam operationem continuò facere. Creatura (saith a famous School-man) quamdiu est, creatura Deo, quia pro quolibet instanti ha∣bet esse à Deo. Preservation is but the eeking out of Creation, and there∣fore can be from no other but God alone. Omnia in illo subsistunt à quo creata sunt. But to pass on;

4. The preservation of all is from God, according to his Decree; and this is evin∣ced by these Reasons.

1. Either God preserves Creatures na∣turally or freely: not naturally, for then he should preserve them perpetually, and so every Fly must run parallel in Eterni∣ty with an Angel; nor naturally, for then he should preserve them uniformly, and so every mortal body would subsist with∣out food as well as the immaterial Spirits; therefore he preserves them freely. There be various ways of Preservation, viz. Preservation of Creatures as to their Being, and as to their adjuncts of or∣der, beauty, goodness and truth; Preservation of them as to their in∣dividuals and as to their kinds; Pre∣servation of individuals by means and without means; preservation of them in perpetuum and for certain periods of time. Now all this variety of Preservations doth evidently display the glorious liberty of the divine Will in the dispensing thereof. Angels are preserved in their individual Beings, and that in perpetuum, and that without means; but the No∣dus perpetuitatis is the divine * 1.1 pleasure; or else their Immortality would

dissolve in a moment. Men, Beasts and Vegetables are preserved in their Indivi∣duals, but 'tis by means, and but for a time, and lest the kind should perish with the individuals; Generation is a supple∣ment to their Mortality, and the ruler in all this is the Will of God. As for Pre∣servation by means, it is God who bring∣eth food out of the earth, Psal. 104. 14. and when 'tis in our hand, we cannot eat thereof unless God give us an heart, Eccl. 6. 2. and when we do eat thereof, 'twill not be the staff of life to us without the word of his blessing, Matth. 4. 4. without this we may eat and not be satisfied, drink and not be filled, Hag. 1. 6, 9. Every Crea∣ture saith, The blessing is not in me, but in the Will of God. As for the Periods of Preservation, they are all fixed in the divine Decree; there the days of men are determined, their months numbred, and their unpassable bounds appointed, Job 14. 5. Hezekiah had fifteen years added to his days; but there was no addi∣tion to the divine Decree. Bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days, Psal. 55. 23. yet they live out all the days set down in the divine Decree. If a Sparrow fall not without God's Will,

Matth. 10. 29. much less can a man do so; if our very hairs are all numbred, Matth. 10. 30. much more are our days. As for the preservation of kinds, all propaga∣tions are from that primitive Benediction, Crescite & multiplicamini, which dropt from the divine Will. Vegetables multiply, but 'tis God who gives to every seed his own body, 1 Cor. 15. 38. Men and Beasts generate their like, but 'tis God who sows a land with the seed of man and the seed of beast, Jer. 31. 27. The man written down childless in God's Book must be without the blessing of posterity; the Member unwritten or left out in that Book, must never be extant in Nature. When Monsters are brought forth, there is an abertation in the particular Nature, but none in the Will of God: when Ba∣stards are generated (which cannot be without a moral Monstrosity) the sin is Man's, but the Creature is God's. In brief; If we run through all varieties of Pre∣servation, either as to the Being of Crea∣tures, or as to the Adjuncts of order, beau∣ty, goodness and truth, we must resolve all into the Will of God. Alas! what is the mutable Being of Creatures, unless fixed by the Will of the Necesse esse? What

are all the Orders and Harmonies of things, unless kept in tune by the counsel of his Will? By him all things 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, Col. 1. 17. not only subsist in their Beings, but con∣sist in their Orders. His Will is the Vir∣tus unitiva, which glues and tacks the whole System of Heaven and Earth toge∣ther, or else all would unframe and fall asunder in a moment. What an empty nothing is Creature-beauty, unless shined upon by his gracious pleasure? 'Tis he that reneweth the face of the earth, Psal. 104. 30. or else * 1.2 the Spring would lose her fresh complexion; nay, and the face of Heaven too, or else all the Starry Beauty∣spots would drop off. What is all the Goodness in the Creature, unless suppli∣ed from the great Original? 'Tis but as water in a broken Cistern, soon running out, and never to be gathered up again. What is all the Truth in the Creature but an Impress made from his Ideal Truth? The Impress the Creature can no more pre∣serve in it self, than it could at first stamp it there. Wherefore the Will of God is that vas conservativum, which preserves and conteins all things within their Beings and modes of Being, or else they

would immediately run into nullity.

2. Preservation is but continuata Crea∣tio; if Creation had been natural, so must Conservation have been too; but seeing Creation is voluntary, such also is Conservation: hence the Twenty four Elders attribute both to God's pleasure; for thy pleasure they are and were created, Rev. 4. 11. they were by his Creation, and are by his Conservation, and both were and are for his pleasure.

3. Whatsoever God preserves, he pre∣serves rationally and for some end; as he made all for himself, so he preserves all for himself. The Heavens and the Earth are by God's word kept in store, 2 Pet. 3. 7. his Word, that is, his Will is the great Storier, which treasures up the World with all its furniture for its own ends; God preserves all rationally, and by just consequence freely also. Thus far of God's Conservation; but to procede.

2. God's Gubernation is also to be con∣sidered by us. Now here I shall touch on two things.

• 1. That God rules and governs all Crea∣tures and Events.
• 2. That God doth it according to his Decree.

1. God rules and governs all Creatures and Events; He is King of Kings, 1 Tim. 6. 15. his kingdom ruleth over all, Psal. 103. 19. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, Wisd. 14. 3. he steers the Ship of the World and all the passengers in it; 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, Wisd. 12. 18. he orders the great House of the World and all the Fa∣milies of Creatures therein. All the hosts of the Universe are ruled by him: the spiritual World is ruled by him, the holy Angels are still a doing of his Will; some∣times they are guarding the godly, some∣times destroying the wicked; sometimes transporting souls to heaven, sometimes striving with Devils; but they are always beholding God's face, Matth. 18. 10. wait∣ing for his imperial Command as their per∣petual rule. These have a great share in turning about the Wheels of the World; when these stand still, the Wheels stand al∣so, when these go, the Wheels go too; but these go not one step of their own heads, but whither the Spirit of God goes, they go, Ezek. 1. 12. and when they go, they go straight on to the period of their work, and then they return, Ver. 14. that is, to the face of God for a new Commission, and till that come, they let down their wings, Ver. 24. listening to his voice, and

adoring at his footstool; all that they do is subordinated to his pleasure. Nay, not only the good Angels, but the Devils (will they, nill they) are subject unto him. They lost their obediential Wings in their fall, and since that, he never trusts them to go without their Chains. Hence, with∣out his divine sufferance, these, though Princes of the Air, cannot raise a storm, though Gods of the World, cannot enter into a Swine, though Rulers of darkness, cannot inject a temptation; indeed they would undermine the Fathers Electi∣on, cheat Christ of his purchased Posses∣sion, and murther all the new Creatures made by the holy Spirit; but they can∣not get off their Chains, and when their Chains are a little loosened, yet their act∣ings fall under Providence. An evil Spi∣rit troubled Saul, but 'twas from the Lord as a righteous Judge, 1 Sam. 16. 14. Satan afflicted Job, but 'twas with a Commission to try his Graces; the Devil tempted Christ, but 'twas that he might succour the tempted, Heb. 2. 18. Which way soever Satan turns himself, still he is under God, as the supreme Moderator. But the spiritual world is not all, the Material World is also under his dominions; the 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, the

Wheel of Nature is all turned about by his counsel; the Heavens with all their Luminaries, rapid Wheelings, spinnings of Time, and hovering indulgent influ∣ences are under his Ordinance, his im∣mense hand spans them, Isai. 48. 19. at once twirling them about with an indefa∣tigable Motion, and squeezing out their quickning influences into the lower World; 'tis he 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, Matth. 5. 45. raises up the Sun to rule the day, and the Moon and Stars to rule the night; the Air with all its Meteors is at his command, he maketh the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth, Psal. 135. 7. and forms them into Clouds in an admirable and ex∣act proportion, the airy and watery parts ballancing each other, Job 37. 16. These are the Bottles of Heaven; when he breaks a Bottle, down comes a refreshing showre; when he turns and tosses a Bottle, 'tis by his counsel, Job 37. 12. The Winds are all in God's hand, Prov. 30. 4. and when he lets out any of them, 'tis by weight, Job 28. 25. just so much and no more, and 'tis to fulfil his will, Psal. 148. 8. and when one command is done, it returns by its circuits to execute another, Eccl. 1. 6. Thunder is God's majestick Voice, and

Lightning his glittering Arrow; both are at his beck, and say to him, Here we are, Job 38. 35. The treasures of Snow and Hail he purses up in the Clouds, and those pay them out again according to his plea∣sure. The stupendious Sea is but a little Babe in his almighty Arms, Clouds and darkness are its swadling-band, Job 38. 9. and the hollow of the Earth its Cradle, there he rocks and rules it as he pleaseth; if it cry and roar, he stills and rebukes it, till he lull it fast asleep in a calm. The vast Earth is but instar puncti before him, at his command are all the living Crea∣tures; the greedy Ravens were Caterers for Elijah, untrained Kine faithful carriers of the Ark, the dumb Ass a reprover to the Prophet, clamorous Dogs moved not their tongues at departing Israel, Laban's Cattle change colour to pay Jacob's wages, Peter's Fish brought Tribute-money in his mouth; and when proud Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord? an answer was sent him by wonderful hosts of Frogs and Flies, Lice and Locusts proclaiming the sove∣reignty of their great Maker and Master. In summ; Man is the Epitome of all the rest, and in governing him God governs all; Man hath an inward Principality of

Reason and Will, yet still he is under the Almighty and All-wise Moderator, who rules and disposes the hearts of men as he pleaseth. 'Twas but his touch on their hearts, and Saul had a band, 1 Sam. 10. 26. 'Twas but his turning the key in Lydia's heart, and the Gospel had entrance, Acts 16. 14. Titus went to the Corinthians 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, 2 Cor. 8. 17. a word importing high liberty, yet God put it into his heart, Ver. 16. The King's heart (and who can be freer than he?) is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of waters he turneth it whither he will, Prov. 21. 1. he turn∣eth it whither he will, there is the sove∣reignty of Providence; yet he turneth it as the Rivers of waters, there is the salv∣ing of Humane Liberty. For as when the Husbandman leads the Waters this and that way by Channels and Trenches, they lose nothing of their natural fluency; so when God turns the hearts of men to such and such Objects, they part with nothing of their natural liberty. God is infinite∣ly greater than our hearts, wiser than our reason, and freer than our liberty; there∣fore he is able and worthy to rule over us in our freest actions. Lastly, as his gu∣bernative Providence is over all Crea∣tures,

so 'tis over all Events, the greatest Events are not above it. When King∣doms are tossed and bandied up and down like a Tennis-ball, Isai. 22. 18. not one E∣vent can fly out of the bounds of Provi∣dence; the smallest are not below it, not a Sparrow falls to the ground without it, not a hair but 'tis numbred by it; he is maximus in minimis; the most natural Ef∣fects are but casual, till his free concourse makes them certain. The Iron with all its gravity is not sure to sink, 2 Kings 6. 6. the Fire with all its fury is not sure to burn, Dan. 3. 27. The most casual effects are not casual to him; when the Lot is cast into the lap, the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord, Prov. 16. 33. When a Bow was drawn at a venture, 1 Kings 22. 34. Providence sent it as a certain messenger of death to the King of Israel. Thus far I have been surveying the hosts of Crea∣tures and Events; I now procede to de∣monstrate that God is the great and uni∣versal Governour over them all: For

1. He hath an absolute Authority over all; his just Title is King of kings and Lord of lords; all the Sphere of Nature and World of Creatures was of his making; he that ruled over Nullity it self in their

Creation, is worthy to rule over all Crea∣tures by his Providence: but (because Authority is liveless without presence) therefore

2. His presence is every where; Crea∣tures lie in the shell of Time and Place, Angels have their definitive Ubi; the Bo∣dy of Christ, which subsists in an infinite Person, is circumscribed by a finite place; but God is every where present, he is higher than Heaven, deeper than Hell, longer than Time, and greater than Place; and who like him to be universal Gover∣nour? If he were only on the Throne of Heaven, how should the Footstool of the Earth be ordered? If his hand only span∣ned the celestial Spheres, what should the Sea do? But he is every where; where∣ever any Creature is, there is I AM sup∣porting and governing it. But (because power is the Crown of presence) there∣fore

3. He is Almighty, the only potentate, 1 Tim. 6. 15. power belongs to him, nay, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, Eph. 1. 19. a pleonasm of power, such as can do 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, Eph. 3. 20. superexcessively above all thoughts of men. No wonder then if the Omnipotent reign; who should reign else?

he can call things that are not, Rom. 4. 17. even a World of Creatures out of the bar∣ren Womb of Nullity, and a Church of New-creatures out of the dead Womb of Nature. He is a God doing wonders, Exod. 15. 11. Wonders to us, but none to him∣self; for all things are easie to Omnipo∣tence; his Government can have no ble∣mishes, because his Power can have no obstacles. But (because Powers hands can∣not be without Wisdoms eyes) therefore

4. He is Infinite in Wisdom to manage all. He is a God of knowledge, 1 Sam. 2. 3. seeing the thoughts afar off, even from the high Arch of Eternity. He hath Trea∣sures of Wisdom, such as cannot be told o∣ver: Sapientiae ejus non est numerus, Psal. 147. 6. and who should rule but the only wise? If we cast our eyes on the millions of Creatures, Angels above and Men be∣low, Stars in Heaven, and living Crea∣tures in Earth and Sea; and all these pouring forth millions of Acts, and falling under millions of Events, & that from the morning to the evening of the World; surely nothing less than an infinite Under∣standing can comprehend all these, and reach à fine usque ad finem, Wisd. 8. 1. If we ponder the beautiful Timings, har∣monious Orders and sweet Compaginati∣ons

of things, The heavens hear the earth, the earth hears the corn and the wine and the oil, and these hear man, Hos. 2. 21. Surely it must be an all-wise Artist who made these golden Chains, and stands at the uppermost link ordering all. I will hear the heavens, saith he, or else all the Creatures would turn a deaf ear to one another. He guides every Wheel, in Na∣ture, and when there is a wheel within a wheel, never so much intricacy and cross∣ness of motion, yet the wheels are full of eyes, Ezek. 1. 18. directing them to their journeys end, and those Eyes are always open to perpetuate that direction. St. Austin derides the Gods in the Roman Capitol, Dii dormiebant, Anseres vigila∣bant; but divine Providence is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, an Eye that never slumbers nor sleeps; his waky Wisdom claims an uni∣versal Government over all: But that which makes up his Imperial Crown is,

5. His perfect Unity. His sovereign Authority, glorious Omnipresence, al∣mighty Power and infinite Wisdom are his Crown-jewels; but that which completes and makes up all these into a Crown is his Unity; he is Unus, nay Unicus, nay Unissimus, his Singularity cannot bear a Compeer, nor his Simplicity a Com∣pound;

if there were either of these, what would become of the Government of the World? Suppose a Compeer; then one Omnipresent might resist the other, one Almighty counterwork the other, and one All-wise counterplot the other. Sup∣pose a Compound; then his Power might go one way, his Wisdom another, and his Presence might withdraw from both. But now he being one God, one in Singulari∣ty, so that there is none else, and one in Simplicity, so that his Presence, Power and Wisdom are but one Essence in him, he and only he is worthy to govern all: Omnis multitudo revocanda est ad unitatem, and perfect Unity is no where to be found but in him alone. Thus much for the first point; but to go on.

2. God rules all according to his Decree, he works all things according to the counsel of his own will, Eph. 1. 11. he doth whatsoever he pleaseth in Heaven and in earth, Psal. 135. 6. That which escapes the pleasure of his Will, must first fly out of the Sphere of Na∣ture. Now this I evince by these Reasons.

1. All those rare Jewels of his Imperi∣al Crown, cemented in his perfect Unity, do shew forth their lustre according to his Will; because his Will put forth a World out of nothing, therefore doth his

sovereign Authority give Laws to it, and his glorious Omnipresence fill and cherish it, his infinite Wisdom ministers to the making of his gubernative Decree, and his Almighty Power ministers to the exe∣cuting of it. There are infinite Orders and Congruities lying in Wisdom's breast, but his Will chuses out of them all what it pleaseth, and so makes up its decree; there are infinite possibles within Powers Arms, but his Power only exerts it self according to his Decree: Wherefore it is plain that God governs all according to his Decree.

2. The various ways of Government set forth the freedom of the Governour; all things are not ruled in the same way: Matter is ruled by Forms, Bodies by Spi∣rits, inferiour Bodies by celestial, the vi∣sible World by invisible Angels, Angels and Spirits immediately by God himself. Neither do the same things always keep the same track; in Joshua's time the glo∣rious Sun did make a stand; in Daniel's time the Fire did not burn; in Elisha's time the Iron swam, as if it had forgot its Centre; in Moses's time the floating Sea stood up as a Rock, and the flinty Rock flowed as a Sea; In Christ's time oh! what excesses of Nature! what actings by Pre∣rogative!

what Epiphanies of Divine glo∣ry! How many wonderful ways did the divine Will triumph over the Order of Nature, evidently demonstrating that the supreme Order of all was in it self a∣lone? If the God of Nature did govern naturally, all the Wheels would move one way, and in one road; wherefore the variety of Motions doth display the li∣berty of the first Mover or Governour.

3. The Government of all things is no other than the efficacious Direction of them by congruous Means to their su∣preme End, and that is done by the di∣vine Will alone; the End of all is the manifestation of his Glory, and this his Will freely embraceth. I say, freely; for the All-sufficient God was under no ne∣cessity to manifest himself, the congruous Means are all of his own choice, and that out of the infinite Mass of Wisdom in himself; and the efficacious Direction of all by those Means to that End is accord∣ing to his Decree. God had designed preferment to Joseph, but first he lay bleed∣ing under the murderous intentions of his Brethren, then he was sold as a slave to the Ishmaelites, afterwards he was wretch∣edly accused by his Mistress, rashly im∣prisoned by his Master, and ungratefully

forgotten by the chief Butler; and yet after all these windings and turnings of Pro∣vidence, this is the worshipful Sheaf, the Ruler over Egypt, and the wise preserver of Jacob and all his posterity in the famine. There are millions of Creatures which know not what an End means, but a di∣vine Intelligence conducts them thither; millions of Events casual, as to us, but the divine Will hath fixed them; millions of Acts free, as to us, but the divine Li∣berty is above them; millions of Confu∣sions dark, as to us, but the divine De∣cree orders them. In all God is Alpha and Omega, the first Mover and the last End, the wise Contriver and sure Mode∣rator of every thing for his own Glory, according to the Counsel of his own Will. O thou divine Will! the tender Nurse and sweet Disposer of all, thou bearest up the Pillars, and turnest about the Wheels of the Universe; the Guide of every Creature to its journeys end is thy wise Ordination, and the safe conduct of it thither is thy gracious Preservation. The swiftest Angel cannot fly out of thy Do∣minions, and the poorest Worm hath a safe abode within them. Thou hast an Eye in every Wheel, an Order in every Ataxy, and a Line in every Confusion:

without thee all Beings would moulder into Nothing; congruous Means prove vain abortions, and Natures Harmonies jangle into sad confusions. Without thee the Breath of the living is but a puff of Vani∣ty, the Reason of the intelligent but a snuff in the socket, and the Liberty of the free but a dead broken Idol. Should∣est thou but for one moment withdraw thy hand, oh! what a tumbling cast would there be among the Angels? what a crack in the heavenly Orbs? what a Chaos in the Elements? what a strange Dooms∣day by the blending of Sun and Sea, Hea∣ven and Earth together? Thou, O divine Will art all in all; thy Wisdom is a wakeful Eye, thy Power a supporting Centre, thy Presence a lively Cherisher, thy Authority a supreme Law-giver, and thy Pleasure an universal Orderer to all the World. Oh that there were such an heart in us as to eye thy Wisdom in every Wheel, own thy Power in every Preser∣vation, awe thy Presence in every place, acknowledge thy Authority in every Law, and submit to thy Pleasure in every E∣vent; always praying, Fiat Voluntas tua, which cannot be perfectly prayed sine in∣fimâ humilitate & altissimâ charitate.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Plat. in Timao.
• * 1.2

  〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. Wisd. cap. 13. 3.