SER M. ever wholly confined his Love and tender ReXXII. gards, or pathetic Wishes of Happiness, to the

Jewish Nation; tho' he selected them out of the whole Earth, as his own People, for the good Purposes of his Providence. His remarkable Punishment of the Jewish Nation, when their Behaviour called for it; and, at last, ruining their whole Polity, and the Fabric of their Commonwealth; and his waiting upon other Nations, to fee whether they would repent or not; and his deferring their Destruction 'till they were paft all Hopes: These Particulars, recorded of old, of His Methods of dealing with Nations, may affure us, that He has the fame tender Defire of the Welfare of All Nations, which He had for That of the Jews; and that He is as truly concerned for the Happiness of other Nations, as ever he was for Those whom He called His own People. He is the Creator of all Men, and the great Governour of all Nations. All have a Title to his Providence, and fatherly Care; and All must be dear in his Eyes, 'till they have made themselves otherwife. It appears from the Sacred Hiftory, That, if Abraham and his Family had been as impious, and as corrupted, as the other Families and Nations of the Earth, God would not have chofen Him, and his Pofterity, out of all the World,

as

as his peculiar People. And that, by this Choice, S ERM. He did not mean to fignify his exempting that xxII. People from the general Rule of his Favour and Displeasure, towards all Nations, is most evident from his totally forfaking Them, and destroying even their Appearance, as a Nation, for the very fame Reasons, for which He had heretofore caft out and deftroyed other Nations, for their Sake: viz. because their Iniquities were full.

This, therefore, must be a mighty Satisfaction, that, whereas the Lords and Tyrants of this Earth often take a Delight in overturning, and confounding Families, and States, and Kingdoms, when their Projects require it, there fits a God on high, áble and wife, to overrule their Power and Cunning; who delights not in Deftruction and Defolation; whofe Almighty Power is chiefly displayed in shewing Mercy; and whofe Delight it is to do Good to the Children of Men. And, well might the Pfalmift, upon Confideration of this, 'cry out, Why boafteft thou thyself thou Tyrant, that thou canft do Mischief? whereas the Goodness of God endureth yet daily; i. e. How can you, the Tyrants of this World, pride yourselves in that Mifery and Ruine which you can scatter around you; when you have the Example of God before your Eyes, who is infinitely exalted above

you,

SERM. you, and cloathed with infinite Degrees of XXII. Power more than you are acquainted with:

And yet, bis Goodness endureth daily; and yet He delights, not in deftroying but, in faving; not in ftriking Terror upon the Nations of the Earth, but in fhowring down his Bleffings upon them? Did the proud, and ambitious, and infatiable Lords of this Earth but confider this; what a stop must it put to all the Madneffes of their Power, here below? How few Scenes of Blood and Defolation? how few Countries depopulated and laid wafte? how few Barbarities exercised? how few Families banished and extirpated? how few Towns laid in Afhes? and how few Inftances of any thing like Violence, or Brutality, fhould we fee or hear of? But, because this lovely Pattern of the most high God, and fupreme Governour of the World, is not regarded; but Ambition, and an unbounded Love of all the Tokens of Power, reign in the Hearts of many of the Rulers here below; therefore it is, that we have heard and feen fo frequently the Characters of Inhumanity in the World, and Rivers of Blood fhed, and Thousands of Lives facrificed, to the Will and Humour of one Man; therefore it is, that we fee Engines of Deftruction invented and improved; all the Arts of Diflimulation to inveigle and cheat, and of Ruine and Violence

XXII.

lence to deftroy, more ftudied, and in more s ERM. Repute, than the Arts of Peace, and the whole Band of Social Virtues. But these Methods are not learnt from that great Governour of Heaven and Earth, who ought to be the great Pattern of the Mighty. For He is never reprefented to us to be more delighted, than when the Rules of his Government permit him to fhower down his Bleffings; and never more grieved, or acting with more Reluctance, than when He is conftrained, as it were, by the fame juft Rules of Government, to po pour Wrath upon any People, or Nation. But,

his

II. We may and ought to obferve, that Almighty God doth not fo wish and defire the Profperity of Nations, but that there are Conditions to be performed on their Part, without which he will not fave them from Deftructi

For Inftance, It is abfolutely neceffary that they call up all their own Prudence, and enter into the beft Counfels they can procure; that they take all Opportunities, and make use of all the most probable Methods, of preventing their own Destruction, by applying Wisdom against Wisdom, Force against Force, and ufing the honeft Arts of this World, under the Conduct and Bleffing of God. They must not forget to implore the favourable Eye and

SE RM, kind Providence of that God, who fits over XXII. all; and can difpofe the Fate of Kingdoms and Nations; and they muft, at the fame time, make use of the Affiftances, He has put into their Hands, by his good Providence; remembring that He will not alone work Miracles for them, whilft They stand still and will do nothing for themselves. To this Purpose I cannot forbear to call to mind that, in that Storm, in which St. Paul was fhipwrecked (Acts xxvii.) tho' an Angel of God had affured him that there fhould be no Lofs of any Man's Life amongst them; yet, when the Ship-men were going to flee out of the Ship, Paul faid to the Centurion, except these abide on the Ship, ye cannot be faved. So fenfible was He, that when God promises to fave any Perfons, either their Lives or Eftates, He never means to exclude their own Endeavours; but always requires the fame Efforts and Behaviour from Them, as if they were to be faved wholly by their own Power and Wisdom.

And as one Part of that Wifdom which God requires of a Nation, in order to their Happinefs, is to use all their own Endeavours against the Designs of their Common Enemy; all that Strength of Mind, and Force of Arms, with which They are blessed; so, another Part of it is, to be united amongst themfelves; to bury all intefline