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GOD as he is the author of all the good wee partake, so he hath a hand in all the evill we suffer. His holinesse denies him to be a cause of the evill of sinne, his justice forceth him to inflict the evill of punishment. Is there any evill in the Citie, and the Lord hath not done it? This Job knew; when he saith, The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away; not onely the Chaldeans and Sabeans,
though they were the theeves, what they did was by Gods per∣mission. Who gave Jacob for a spoyle, and Israel to the robbers? did not the Lord? God concur∣reth in every evill action, though not in the evill of the action. The substance of it may be of God, when the obliquitie is of man. God hath an over-ruling hand over all mens wills, yet those wills may have contrary motions of their owne. Foolish men are they then, who being af∣flicted, either look upon the evill, and not the cause, or if the cause, either the wrong, or more imme∣diate causes, as misfortune, ma∣lice of man, want of discretion. I will therefore look not so much on my affliction, as on my affli∣cter, and that not subordinate, but supreame; so shall I finde my suffering to be the more sweet,
as proceeding from a gracious fa∣ther, whose hand as it casts down will raise up, as it woundeth will heale. Thus in looking up to him the agent, he will look down on me the patient, and either remove the evill from me, or make mee able to beare it.