muft of Neceffity difpute in a Circle, as the Papifts do between the Church and the Scriptures, when they either prove that there is no Providence, or no Life after this, from the unequal Rewards and Punishments of good and bad Men in this World, For, in effect, they prove that there is no Providence, because there is no Life after this; or that there is no Life after this, becaufe there is no Providence. For the Profperity of bad Men, and the Sufferings of the good, proves neither of them, unless you take the other for granted. And if you will prove them both by this Medium, you must take them both for granted by turns; and that is the eafier and fafer Way to take them for granted, without expofing themselves to the Scorn of wife Men by fuch kind of Proofs. But yet though this were no Objection against the Being of another World, and a Providence; yet had the Profperity of bad Men, and the Calamities of the good con tinued fome hundred Years, it had been a greater Difficulty, and a greater Temptation than now it is. The Profperity of the Wicked is a much less Objection when it is so easily anfwered, as the Pfalmift does, Yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be; yea, thou shalt diligently confider bis Place, and it fball not be, Pfal. xxxvii. 1o. When the very fame Perfons, who have been the Spectators and Witneffes of his profperous Villanies, live to fee a quick and fudden End of him: I have feen the wicked in great Power, and Spreading himself like a green Bay tree; yet he paffed away, and lo he was not; yea, I fought him, but he could not be found, 35, 36. And this is enough to fupport the Spirits of good Men : For this Caufe we faint not; but though our outward Man perish, yet the inward Man is renewed Day by Day. For our light Affliction, which is but for a

moment,

moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal Weight of Glory, 2 Cor. iv. 16, 17.

SECT. V.

The Time, and Manner, and Circumftances of every particular Man's Death, is not determined by an abfolute and unconditional Decree. II. Hough GOD, who knows all Things, does know alfo the Time, and Manner, and Circumftances of every particular Man's Death, yet it does not appear that he has by an abfolute and unconditional Decree, fix'd and determined the particular Time of every Man's Death. This is that famous Queftion which Beverovicius, a learned Phyfician, was fo much concerned to have refolved, and confulted fo many learned Men about it, as fuppofing it would be a great Injury to his Profeffion, did Men believe that the Time of their Death was fo abfolutely determined by God, that they could neither die fooner, nor live longer than that fatal Period, whether they took the Advice and Prescriptions of the Phyficians or not. But this was a vain Fear; for there are fome Speculations which Men never live by, how vehemently foever they contend for them: A Sceptic who pretends that there is nothing certain, and will difpute with you as long as you please about it, yet will not venture his own Arguments fo far as to leap into Fire and Water, nor to ftand before the Mouth of a loaded Cannon, when you give Fire to it. Thus Men who talk moft about fatal Neceffity and abfolute Decrees, yet they will eat and drink to preferve themfelves in Health, and take Phyfick when they are fick, and as heartily repent

of their Sins, and vow Amendment and Reformation, when they think themfelves a dying, as if they did not believe one Word of fuch abfolute · Decrees, and fatal Neceffity, as they talk of at other Times.

I do not intend to engage in this Difpute of Neceffity and Fate, of Prefcience and abfolute Decrees, which will be Disputes as long as the World lafts, unless Men grow wiser than to trouble themfelves with fuch Questions as are above their Reach, and which they can never have a clear Notion and Perception of; but all that I intend is to fhew according to the Scripture-Account of it, That the Period of our Lives is not fo peremptorily determined by God, but that we may lengthen or fhorten them, live longer, or die fooner, according as we behave ourselves in this World.

you,

Now this is very plain from all thofe Places of Scripture, where God promifes long Life to good Men, and threatens to fhorten the Lives of the Wicked, Pfal. xci. 16. With long Life will I fatisfy him, and fhew him my Salvation. Solomon tells us of Wifdom, Length of Days is in her Right Hand, and in her Left Riches and Honours, Prov. iii. 16. The Fear of the Lord prolongeth Days, but the Years of the Wicked fhall be shortened, Prov. x. 27. Thus God has promised long Life to those who honour their Parents, in the fifth Commandment; and the fame Promise is made in more general Terms to those who obferve the Statutes and Commandments of God, Deut. iv. 40. Upon the fame Condition God promifed long Life to King Solomon, 1 Kings iii. 14. And if thou wilt walk in my Ways, to keep my Statutes and Commandments, as thy Father David did walk, then will I lengthen thy Days. The fame is fuppofed in David's Prayer to God, not to take bim

away

away in the Midft of his Days, Pfal. cii. 24. And in Pfal. Iv. 23. he tells us, That bloody and deceitful men fhall not live out half their Days. Now one would reasonably conclude from hence, that God has not abfolutely and unconditionally determined the fatal Period of every Man's Life, because he has conditionally promifed to prolong Mens Lives or threatened to fhorten them; for what Place can there be for conditional Promises, where an abfolute Decree is paft? How can any Man be faid not to live out half his Days, if he lives as long as God has decreed he fhall live? For if the Period of every particular Man's Life be determined by God, none are his Days but what God has decreed for him.

As for Matter of Fact, it is plain and evident, both that Men fhorten their own Lives, and that God fhortens them for them, and that in fuch a Manner as will not admit of an abfolute and unconditional Decree: Thus fome Men deftroy a healthful and vigorous Constitution of Body by Intemperance and Luft; and do as manifeftly kill themselves, as those who hang, or poison, or drown themselves; and both thefe Sorts of Men, I fuppose, may be faid to shorten their own Lives; and fo do thofe who rob, or murther, or commit any other Villany, which forfeits their Lives to public Juftice; or quarrel and fall in a Duel, and the like: And yet you will no more fay, that God decreed and determined the Death of thefe Men, than he did their Sin.

Thus God himself very often fhortens the Lives of Men by Plague and Famine, and Sword, and fuch other Judgments as he executes upon a wicked World: And this must be confefs'd to be the Effect of God's Council and Decrees, as a Judge

decrees

decrees and pronounces the Death of a Malefactor; but this is not an abfolute and unconditional Decree, but is occafioned by their Sins and Provocations, as all Judgments are: They might have lived longer, and efcaped thefe Judgments, had they been virtuous, and obedient to God; for if they fhould have lived no longer, whether they had finned or not, their Death, by what Judgments foever they are cut off, is not fo properly the Execution of Juftice, as of a peremptory Decree; their Lives are not shortened, but their fatal Period is

come.

Indeed unless we make the Providence of God, not the Government of a wife and free Agent, who acts pro re nata, and rewards and punishes as Men deferve, as the Scripture reprefents it; but an unavoidable Execution of a long Series of fatal and neceffary Events, from the Beginning to the End of the World, as the Stoics thought; we must acknowlege, that in the Government of free Agents, God has referved to himself a free Liberty of lengthening or fhortening Mens Lives, as will beft ferve the Ends of Providence. For if we will allow Man to be a free Agent, and that he is not under a Neceffity of finning, and deferving to be cut off at fuch a Time, or in fuch a Manner, the Application of Rewards and Punifhments to him muft be free alfo, or else they may be ill applied: He may be punished when he deferves to be rewarded; the fatal Period of Life may fall out at fuch a Time, when he most of all deferves long Life, when the lengthening his Life would be a public Bleffing to the World. Fatal and neceffary Events can never be fitted to the Government of free Agents, no more than you can make a Clock, which fhall ftrike exactly for Time and Number, when

and

fuch