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bours, wild men.

To furnish accommo

dations for our curiosity and pleasure, or to provide for the convenience and ornament of our life, still greater measures of industry are demanded; to satisfy those intents, a thousand contrivances of art, a thousand ways of trade and business do serve, without which they are not attainable. In whatever condition any man is, in what state soever he be placed, whatsoever calling or way of life he doth embrace, some peculiar business is thence imposed on him, which he cannot with any advantage or good success, with any grace, with any comfort to himself, or satisfaction to others, manage without competent industry: nothing will go on of itself, without our care to direct it, and our pains to hold it, and forward it in the right course: all which things shew that divine Wisdom did intend that we should live in the exercise of industry, or not well without it; having so many needs to be supplied, so

many desires to be appeased thereby; being exposed to so many troubles and difficulties, from which we cannot extricate ourselves without it. But farther yet,

6. Let us consider that industry hath annexed thereto, by divine appointment and promise, the fairest fruits, and the richest rewards: all good things (being either such in themselves, or made such by human esteem) are the fruits of industry; ordered to sprout from it, under the protection and influence of God's blessing, which commonly doth attend it.

All good things, indeed, are the gift of God, and freely dispensed by his hand; but he doth not give them absolutely without condition, nor miraculously without concurrence of ordinary means by supporting our active powers, and supplying needful aid to our endea vours; by directing and upholding us in the course of our action; by preventing or removing obstacles that might cross us; by granting that final success

which dependeth on his pleasure, he doth confer them on us; our hand commonly is God's hand, by which he worketh good, and reacheth our benefits to us; governing and wielding it as he pleaseth.

God indeed could not well proceed otherwise in dispensing his favours to us; not well, I say; that is, not without subverting the method of things which himself hath established; not without slighting and voiding his own first bounty, or rendering the common gifts of nature (our reason, our senses, our active powers) vain and useless; not without making us incapable of any praise, or any reward, which suppose works achieved by our earnest endeavour; not without depriving us of that sweetest content which springeth from enjoying the fruit of our labour.

Hence it is, that whatever in holy Scripture is called the gift of God, is otherwhile affirmed to be the effect of

industry; it being the useful condition upon which, and the instrument whereby, divine Providence conveyeth good things to us: what God said to Joshua, doth imply the general method of his proceeding, "Only be thou strong and courageous, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest."

Hence, whatever we are directed to pray for, we are also exhorted to work for; declaring thereby, that we are serious in our devotion, and do not mock God, asking that of him which we deem not worth our pains to acquire. It was well said of Cato in Sallust, that "It is by vigilance, by activity, by decisive efforts and prudent counsels, that the undertakings of men are crowned with success. He who is the slave of cowardice or indolence, in vain offereth up his vows: the gods shut their ears, and turn, with indignation, from so unworthy a supplicant." We are bid to pray even for our daily bread, yet we may starve

if we do not work for it; and in St. Paul's judgment deserve to do so.

Hence we are bound to thank God for all those things, for the want of which we must thank ourselves, and condemn our own sloth.

Hence, although we should cast our care on God, and rely on his providence, being solicitous for nothing; yet we must not so trust him, as to tempt him, by' neglecting the means which he doth offer, of relieving ourselves; to be presumptuously slothful being no less blameable, than to be distrustfully careful.

Hence God, in all such cases, when we do need any good thing, is said to be our helper and succourer to the obtaining it; which doth imply that we must co-operate with him, and join our forces to those which he doth afford; so that as we can do nothing without him, so he will do nothing without us; yea, so that sometime we are said also to help God; "Curse ye Meroz, curse ye