Religion & morality > Human nature in its four-fold state ... in several practical discourses

Head III. anfwcred. 307
ftlves, as it ys were to do all; and yet over¬
look all ye do, as if. ye had done nothing. Will ye
do nothing for your ftlves, becaufe ye cannot do
all ? Lay down no fuch impious Conclufion a-
gainft your own Souls. Do what you can ; and
it may be, while ye are doing what ye can for your
felves, God will do for you what ye cannot. Un-
derftatideft thou what thou readejl ? faid Philip to
the Eunuch: How can /, faith he, except fame Man
(houldguide me ? Adts viii. 30, 3,1. He could net
underfland the Scripture he read ; yet he could read
it: He did what he could, he read; and while be
was reading, God fent him an Interpreter. The
Jfraelites were in a greatStrait at the Red-lea: And
how could they help themfelves, when upon the
one Hand were Mountains, and on the other the
Enemies Garifon ; when Pharaoh and his Hoft
were behind them, and the Red-fea before them ?
What could they do ? Speak unto the Children of
Ifrael, faith the Lord to Mofes, that they go for¬
ward, Exod. xiv. 15. For what End fhould they
go forward ? Can they make a Pailage to them-
Idves through the Sea ? No ; but Jet them go for¬
ward, faith the Lord ; tho’ they cannot turn Sea
to dry Land, yet they can go forward to the Shore :
And fo they did ; and when they did what they
could, God did for them what they could not
do.
£>ueft. Has God promifed to con'cert and fave
them, who, in the Ufe of Means, do what they Can
towards their own Relief? Anf. Wc may not
fpeak wickedly for God: Natural Men being Stran¬
gers to the Covenants of Promtfe, Eph. ii. 12. have
no fuch Promife made to them. Nevcrthelefs they
do not ad rationally, unlsfs they exert the Powers
they